Of the Demon and God
by SunshineNGunpowder21
Summary: The storm has past and Rai is safe in the arms of Amegakure's God and all seems to be settling down...Until demons from her past resurface and the Devil himself finds what belongs to him...This is only the beginning...And war is sure to follow...
1. Sushi

**I'm baaaaack!!**

**Rai: Me too!!!!**

**Yaaaay!!! Anyway here is the much anticipated sequel to Silent Storm. If you haven't read the first one then I would advise you to do so or you may get a little confused. This is an OC story so if you complain and don't like it then GOOD for you! Keep it to yourself!**

**As for my awesomely AWESOME reviewers! This one's for you!!**

**Disclaimer… The OC's are mine… nothing more or less.**

There was no logical reasoning behind this. None at all. Why in all seven hells did he ever agree to such a thing as this? Curiosity… _Foolish emotion_. Though he had nothing to worry about, that didn't mean he didn't like it. He had rightfully taken what was his from these people and needed nothing more from them. Not the Village, not the Hokage and not the nine-tailed fox…Not anymore that is. So why was it that he agreed to this meeting here in the middle of the forest to discuss anything with them? Like he said before, there was no logical reasoning behind this.

To his right stood a silent kunoichi with her blue locks pulled to a tight bun. Her features were soft as they always were but still had that threatening gleam that clashed with her milky complexion. She stayed focus at the few shinobi before her that she had the pleasure, or rather displeasure, of allying with momentarily nearly two month's prior. She looked to her left at Pein who stared piercingly at the blonde before him with crimson cloak and black flames at the end of the material; Hokage's attire no doubt. Seeing the clearing was absent of any busty blonde, he only assumed that this boy was now given the title of Konohagakure's leader.

"Granny Tsunade was killed," the boy said to break the tense silence as if knowing that was what was on the ruthless shinobi's mind. "That's part of the reason we asked to meet with you on parlay terms."

"I care not for your incompetence to stay alive. Even less about your village," he said coldly. After what they had done to what belonged to him, he had no sympathy.

The nine-tailed fox glared at him. "We aren't here to get your unwanted sympathy. I…I need closure and if this is what everyone in the village thinks it is then I want to find some level ground with Akatsuki."

"Ally again?" Konan asked in a dangerous low tone. "Only a fool's hope. Don't expect anything from us."

"The village was attacked the day after Rai was taken," said a new voice just left of Naruto. Pein had tried to avoid contact with this man, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to acknowledge him. Kakashi continued. "We suffered countless losses, one being Lady Tsunade, and are now making repairs although we want to know what you would know of it."

At this Pein wanted to give a wry chuckle. Where they really this thick? He didn't want anything to do with them. "I only wanted to retrieve Rai. If you think that I would want your Fox demon then here's a reality check. There are other ways to find the peace I desire. Demon's are of no concern of mine."

"Mhmm…" Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"I'll believe that," Naruto said. This earned him a confused tossed glance by Konan.

"Then why would you suspect we had anything to do with it if you would easily believe what we said?"

"We just wanted to hear it from you," Itachi explained right behind Naruto.

Pein didn't even spare him a glance. He had no use for traitors. "So get to the point of this."

"There was an attack-"

"Yes, we've clarified that."

Naruto could feel his own patience running thin but he wasn't foolish enough to talk against the Leader of Akatsuki. "It was a man that attacked with only three others under his command. The three followers died, but that's not important. What is important is that this man… rivaled your own strength, nearly burning Konoha completely to the ground." He watched during a slight pause as Pein's eyes narrowed offensively at the thought of anyone being on his same level of skill. "The man was looking for Rai and nearly tipped Konoha over just to find her. According to one of his followers that were alive for a short time afterwards, they were from Demon Country and had heard of Rai being trialed for execution… They had come to get her like you had…" Naruto paused to let that sink in.

Pein visibly bristled at the thought of some other man looking for Rai. Who was he to claim what wasn't his? The man, whoever he was, would pay dearly. The Rinnegan wielder could feel his blood boiling under his skin and all he saw was a flash of red before he took a deep breath. In, out. In, out. The need to feel this man's organs burst under his chakra would have to wait…. A little longer. "Are you sure he was after Rai and not the fox?"

"Yes," Itachi answered. "I can only assume it wasn't to just make a point across."

"….She is safe with Akatsuki." Pein said more to himself then the men in front of him. He turned to start walking away but was stopped by Kakashi's call.

"But that's not the reason we asked for this meeting." Kakashi watched as Pein turned back to face them but made no other move. "We want to eliminate this man if his goals are the same as Madara's. He'll look everywhere for Rai now that he knows she's alive. Villages will be in danger and if he attacks like he did with Konoha then a war will surely break out. You wouldn't want that…"

Pein was aware that Kakashi was trying to play the "peace" card, but as far as Pein was concerned, this was not a well thought-through reason. Another Madara, huh? That in itself was a decent reason. He refused to have another incident with Rai like the last time. And if this man was a threat then surely they would have to kill him soon. "And you suspect that he wants Rai because he wants to use her?"

"That's what we suspect."

Pein looked to Konan who stared back intently. She didn't like this news. But Pein had another remedy. Turning back to the men he started, "Her bloodline is only able to be controlled by the Sharringan. I doubt Itachi would switch to this man's side……" He slate grey eye's turned to the said Uchiha. "….but I've been wrong before."

There was a thick silence that blanketed around them snuggly, making the air stick to their lungs before Naruto cleared his throat. "But…before the demon-ninja died, he told us that they had made allies themselves…. Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke."

_The Uchiha brat?_ Pein's eyes narrowed. He had failed to kill him the first few times, but the kid wouldn't get away with a breath in his lungs a third time. _Snakes_, he scoffed inwardly. To hell with the slimy bastards.

"I need your help," Naruto said as he stepped forward. "Konoha needs your help. This seems like the last threat and if we want everything to stay as it is we need to kill this man… or Rai. And I don't want to kill Rai."

Pein said nothing.

"Konoha needs your help. We probably don't deserve anything and shouldn't be asking but everyone makes mistakes, right?" he grinned to try and lighten the air with his hand scratching the back of his neck. Kakashi watched Naruto sadly, clearly impressed with how Naruto had matured in such a short time. The death of Tsunade had really affected him.

"So you want help to kill this man and that is it?" Konan clarified.

"Yes…"

"Very well," Pein said stoically. "I'll think about it and send word by tomorrow."

"Thank you," Naruto said with a nod of his head and sudden relief spreading through his tired body.

Pein was at least interested in killing this man, but the thought of siding with Konoha again was something he wasn't truly into. The thought alone made him want to shy away from it like a wolf with his teeth bared, but he knew he needed to suck in his pride for this one. Rai was again going to be hunted down as a weapon and he wouldn't lose her again. Not a chance in this world. With this he was almost to agree with Naruto right then and there, but chose not to. Tomorrow when he told them he would agree then he would have many plans and agreements made out for them to find their own duties through this kill. He would want information from Konoha and would give the need info in return as well as other things, but he would cover that tonight in his office.

"So we will hear from you tomorrow," Itachi nodded as he watched Pein and Konan.

"Can I ask you something?" Kakashi asked before their good byes were made. Pein only looked to him. Kakashi looked to Konan then to Pein, clearly curious that Rai hadn't come instead of Konan. "Where is Rai at? Is she doing alright?"

An innocent question. He hadn't seen her for a month. Of course he wondered how she was.

Pein though could feel his insides twists in a knot and dread filled him once the realization had made itself known. How could he have forgotten? Rai would be safe in the base….. But she wasn't at the base. She hadn't been there for almost a week. Instead she had gone to Iwa country with Deidara for a mission…. And that wasn't far from Demon country. Shit! Instead Pein said nothing and walked away from the others with Konan at his heels, leaving a confused group of Konoha-nin behind him.

* * *

**Five Days Before**

A week after she arrived at the base while being carried by a man only said to be dead before retrieving her, Rai found herself sitting casually on a leather couch with an arm, not her own, draped across her shoulders. Leaning back with a content sigh, she felt the fingers curl around her shoulder comfortingly. The said arm was attached to a grinning blonde with cerulean blue eyes sparkling mischievously at the man sitting across from him. Rai smiled while she listened as Kisame and Deidara chatted and schemed animatedly about the two victims returning from a mission today. Of course none of the other members were interested in tricking the two returning ninja but that just left the planning for two open minds to have less… limitations. For the victims of any scheme, that wasn't a good thing.

"I'm telling ya that Hidan will piss his pants!" Kisame laughed while slapping his knee.

However in Kami's name it was possible, Deidara's grin grew, crookedly of course. "But I have something better…"

The secret weapon of their plan laughed to herself. Since the day she and Pein had retuned, Deidara and Kisame had not left her side. She only expected it to be as such once Hidan and Kakuzu got back, none the less, she didn't mind. Deidara was much like a brother; their troublemaking minds nearly inseparable once it came to plans. Kisame wasn't far from that. Together the three kicked ass and asked questions later; or so it as to the white haired kunoichi. It wasn't jut the three, however. Three's a crowd, but four's a party. Hidan- though crude and violent- treated Rai like a sister but it was still a mystery as to why that was. Then again it wasn't in Rai's nature to ask questions; which was the main reason why she took part in this trick. It was a little twisted, but if anyone would be called out as the next sacrifices to Jashin, it sure as hell wouldn't be her- leaving only Deidara and Kisame. Kakuzu wouldn't react to it or so she told herself. As far as they knew about the entire ordeal, she had met her execution date with Konoha and was currently six feet under ground. "We'll meet him at the front door with Rai and then tell him that when he was gone, you and I went and saved her, un!" Dediara continued.

Kisame pondered for a moment or two before a wide grin curled his lips. This being a clear sign to Rai, she merely raised an eyebrow skeptically, while waiting for the answer she knew was sure to follow.

"That's perfect!"

"You two are suicidal," Rai commented humorously, though it was already more then clear.

"It's not a bad trait," Kisame shrugged and leaned back into his chair.

"Yeah. If it get's a reaction then go for it, un."

Rai only shook her head at them knowing this plan was a blow to Hidan's ego as well as his pride. Death was surely to come by the end of the day.

Before anything could be finalized, the second kunoichi walked into the room with dark blue hair hanging in wet waves over her shoulders. Her cloak was missing, leaving view of a light pastel grey t-shirt showing she had just come from a shower.

"Morning!" greeted a cheerful Rai.

Konan smiled. "Are you feeling better?"

Since the three days when Pein had carried the unconscious Rai back to the base, she had slowly regained her strength. Her hollow cheeks were full and her ribs had filled out with her natural tan painting over the paleness. Still she was weak, but overall she felt like she could take on any mission. "Good as new," she replied it her own smile.

Konan gave a please nod and responded, "I'm glad to hear it." Turning her attention to the blonde, she shyly looked down then back to the cerulean eyes. "Can I talk to you alone?"

Dediara blinked, wondering what was wrong with his kunoichi before he unraveled his arm from Rai's shoulder and walked over to Konan's side. "What's wrong, yeah?"

She only shook her head- a clear sign that told him "not now". Turning out of the room and down the hall, Dediara followed patiently with thoughts running through scenarios of if he did something wrong, if he forgot her birthday and many others… What could have her so down about something?

"What was that all about?" Rai asked the equally confused Kisame.

Kisame only shrugged and leaned back in his chair. Seeing as he wasn't worried about it she only felt there was no reason for her to be as well. Enjoying the silence that settled in the living room, she closed her eyes and breathed in content. It had become a habit. A relaxing habit that she hated, but couldn't seem to get rid of. Silence meant that she was alone and alone meant no more tormenting enemy. At first the silence frightened her, making her feel suffocated and hunted… But being held prisoner for nearly a fortnight broke her of the fear and replaced it with something worse. The dark.

Sure it may sound silly and childish, but it was no joke to Chigiri Rai. Darkness meant she couldn't see her enemy or attacker- yes there was a difference. It was a question of what kind of demons hid shrouded in darkness and how sharp were their claws…

"So what is between you and Leader-sama?" Kisame questioned curiously.

Confusion showed in her furrowed brows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's probably not my business but I've been wanting to know for a while now." That had he made a bet with Kakuzu that they were romantically involved. Not that he cared in any way.

Still Rai wasn't compliant. "That's nice to know but I still don't know what you're talking about."

Kisame couldn't help but roll his eyes which Rai frowned at. "I mean are you two bed mates?"

A fine blush tinted her cheeks and her eyes widened. "…the Hell?--"

"I just want to know if you guys are actually together," he interrupted when he saw that he wasn't going to get an answer in returned instead, a question.

Rai opened her mouth to say something before closing it and then opening again, but no sound came out. It was then that her luck switched when Pein walked to the living room and took the seat Deidara had previously taken. Rai smiled devilishly and looked to Kisame with a look clearly screaming, "haha! To bad for you!" The look she got in return was a string of curses under his breath at the timing. Pein stayed oblivious as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. "Feeling better?

"Much," she smiled brightly. Kisame perked up and watched carefully. Maybe they would kiss or have a hot make out session, or even forget he was there and then he could see a nice little show?! With this hopeful thought his eyes bulged as he watched every move they made…. Which was none as they both stared skeptically at his obvious ogling. Pein cleared his throat at the blue ninja's strange behavior, shaking Kisame out of his many images. It was then that the blue turned to a lush magenta against his skin and he got up quickly before leaving. Rai was trying not to smile and was failing miserably.

Kisame though had left, as they had expected, however he would be back……. Oh you could be sure of that!

Pein turned back to Rai with his smile he only showed to her. It was a shame he didn't smile more often. He really was handsome and the piercings never hindered that. In fact in only made it more obvious. "I hope they aren't corrupting my girl," he said in his same deep voice though she could hear the tease. For some reason when he teased her in such a serious voice, it always ended up funnier then intended.

"Well what do you expect? You have a drinking fish man and a homicidal bomber. Bound to be some corruption somewhere."

"Just don't pick up on any habits from Hidan and we won't have any problems," he said while turning back towards the large fireplace.

"I won't be worshipping any God named Jashin," she scoffed.

"You're damn right." Before she could blink, Pein had twisted them around with Rai under him with an _"eep!"_ escaping her lips. Brilliant blue stared up to the shimmering grey only inches from her face. "You only have one God."

"But I don't worship him," she said defiantly in her own low whispered tease.

"Oh?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "Would you follow a command he gave you?"

"Depends…"

"Simple question, Rai."

"…yes. I would."

Pein smirked crookedly and leaned to her neck but didn't touch her with his lips. Instead he inhaled her scent, memorizing it, before breathing out and across her skin. Rai shivered and closed her eyes. "And if he believed in something passionately…. Would you fight for the same beliefs?" His mouth opened and he sucked on the skin of her neck lightly before leaving a trail of butterfly kisses.

"…Yes," she answered shakily, too focused on his warm body flushed against hers and the scent of rain wrapped around them.

"And… What would you do… if he died?" came his question between kisses before he took the lobe of her ear into his mouth.

"I'd… be lost."

He released her ear and chuckled, shaking Rai from her state. Confused she looked to him to see what was so funny as he sat up just enough to see her face. "You see? That's worship."

Realizing what he meant she scowled. "No. That was a trick!"

"Really?" He leaned forward. "But you sounded so passionate about it." And just like that his lips were on hers that she immediately responded to while wrapping her arms around his neck. Even with his many piercings he was a very gentle kisser, yet very dominant. She found no room to complain. She didn't like to take charge unless it was on the battle field. Not to mention that any logical thought of fighting back was thrown out the window whenever she was around him. Her sanity shortly followed whenever he kissed her.

She could feel his hands on her waist before one began to travel up but her mind was too foggy to pay attention once he deepened the kiss. Her own hand moved up to the nape of his neck and into his orange locks while he growled in satisfaction. Rai smirked against his lips and took a few shaky breaths before the started again with her other hand wandering under his shirt, and welcomed by the flexing of his smooth muscles just under his flawless skin.

Pein had begun to untie her white hair from the low braid when a sudden flash ruptured the room and both froze. Rai's right eye twitched as Pein pulled back quickly with a kunai in hand. She knew what that flash was and she was pissed. It was suddenly clear that Pein recognized it as well once his eyes fell onto Kisame peeking over the back of the couch with a camera in hand and face contorted in a "Oh shit!" expression.

"_Oh shit" is right_…Rai thought dryly as Pein returned to the ruthless leader once again and stared down at Kisame who seemed to shrink back. Before either could blink Kisame had disappeared behind the hallway and taken off, only leaving dust in his presence. This left only silence as both fumed at the nerve of the Mist-nin. There would be hell to pay and the retribution would commence by two angry members of Akatsuki. "I'll be back later," Pein said quietly in his deep velvet like voice before walking out of the living room.

Rai grinned wickedly and straightened her shirt out. She could see it all now:

_Everyone sitting at a table, ready to eat. Of course they would all dig in right away seeing as manners weren't an issue. All of them would love the food and hmm to themselves before one of them asked Pein about it. _

"_Leader-sama. What is this? It's really good, un," Deidara would smile._

"_Just a special blend of a few things lying around the base."_

"_Really? I don't ever remember buying fish," Kakuzu would only reply. _

"_Psh. This fish is fucking great! Great flavor and fucking good texture! Tender too!"_

"_Yes. I agree," Pein reply._

"_Hey….." Konan would look around the table. "Where's Kisame? I haven't seen him since this morning."_

Perfect diabolical plan!!!

* * *

Deidara followed Konan to the bedroom where he closed the door, not wanting anyone to hear her lecturing him. She had yet to do so but Hidan said all women do it at some point. Then again…Why was he taking relationship lessons from Hidan of all people? Hidan always ended up killing his women.

Deidara shrugged it off and walked to where Konan sat on the edge of the bed. "Everything ok?"

She looked long and hard to the ground and he could feel his dread that there was something terribly wrong. It couldn't be his fault… right?

"Do you promise….I'm just scared is all…." She started slowly.

Deidara's brows furrowed deeply and he kneeled before her while taking a hand that was in her lap. "What's the matter? You know you can tell me, un." Her eyes were on the verge of tears and she could barely stare back to his cerulean blue before it was too much and she turned away.

"It's just… I don't want you to be angry…."

Deidara was at the end of his rope and nearly panicking though not an ounce of it showed on the outside. What did he do? He had never comforted a woman before! Kami! What was he getting into?! Whores, and prostitutes…. Yeah those he could handle… He was forced to handle to relieve his own sexual tension but this? A relationship? If Sasori was alive now he would be laughing his head off… literally.

"I'm... Remember the night before Rai was captured?" she started.

Deidara grinned remembering the wild night and nodded.

She continued. "Well….Um… I wasn't feeling well a few weeks ago and hadn't been getting better. I didn't think it was anything to worry about, but Zetsu and Pein told me that I needed to check into it."

The grin had long since disappeared and worry stretched across his flawless features. "Are you still sick, yeah? I know that if we need a medic we can kidnap that pink haired girl—"

"No, Dei, I'm not sick…." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm pregnant."

His heart had to have stopped and the world froze. Pregnant? Did he hear right? Pregnant? That couldn't be…. It just couldn't…. but it was!

After only hearing silence and the grip on her hand had tightened, she braved a look to Deidara to see what she expected to be anger. All she met was complete shock and overwhelming emotions whirling behind the vibrant blue like a whirl pool. "Dei… At least say something…" she nudged.

And with that, the explosion happened. She was suddenly lifted into the air by two strong arms in a tight embrace while he spun a circle and let the startled kunoichi down to the ground before cupping her face and kissing her deeply. "We're having a baby! It's a baby! I'm going to be a father, yeah!"

All previous fear suddenly lifted off of her shoulders at Deidara's cheering and passionate butterfly kisses. She hadn't expected him to be so proud and enthusiastic no matter what Pein had told her. Then again Pein was a man himself and when she told him she got a much more Pein-like reaction though happy and pleased all the same. "We'll set up his own room with us and take him everywhere! Maybe he'll have your hair, yeah! Maybe it'll be a girl!.....OH I hope not, yeah! I don't think I can handle a teenager girl, un!"

Konan only smiled happily. "Pein has already said that I can't go on missions if I'm already two months into pregnancy-"

"Two months, un?" he asked in wide eyes.

"I was going to tell you sooner, but with everything happening I got side tracked… and I wasn't sure how you would react."

"Well Leader-sama's right! You can't go out on any other missions, un."

"That's why he told me to tell you that you have a mission in Iwagakure. If I can't go you have to take someone else with you."

Deidara nodded. "I'll take Rai. She hasn't been out in a while."

It sounded simple enough…

**BAM! What a way to start off, ne? Haha let's see where this story goes? I'll me honest that I have a small idea but that's, it meaning that if you have ANY suggestions or ideas then let me know!!!**


	2. Memiors of a past

_**This Chapter takes place right after the meeting with Pein and Naruto.**_

**Thank you to my amazing reviewers!!! Dangos and cookies to you all!!! Everyone seems to be pretty pumped about this story so let's keep that momentum going!!**

**Rai: Woooo!!!! Yeah let's go!!**

**Disclaimer…I own Rai. Pretty cool huh? I'm the only person who can say that in the world!!! Cha!!**

**Rai: Cuz I'm just that awesome!!!**

Hearing the news of the mission had been the highlight of her day. Not only did she get to leave the base and go out, but a real mission! When was the last time she went on one? She hadn't been able to start a mission with Pein as a partner yet which she was honestly excited about. She wondered what it would be like, knowing that the missions were much harder for the leader of Akatsuki to take. This mission was a simple errand. Drop off a scroll and get information on a small group of Waterfall traitors that need to be eliminated. Easy enough for the devious duo. Of course the killing would have to wait for another mission which was a slight shame but none the less, she wasn't complaining except for the fact that she didn't get to see what Pein had done to Kisame before she left and Deidara was very happy over something….. What it was still stayed hidden to her, much to her disappointment. It was like he couldn't stop grinning wildly about some joke that she didn't get or something and was starting to wear on her nerves. Just what wasn't he telling her? After all she did to try and ask for the reason, he would shake his head and say "Wait till we get back, yeah." Why? Why couldn't he just fricken tell her now?!

Sighing, she reluctantly changed the subject to what Konan had wanted when they left to talk… That only rubbed her the wrong way more when he said nothing but his grin grew brighter then before. How that was possible, she wasn't sure, but her temper was starting to grow. Still she dropped the subject with her curiosity as hungry and rabid as ever. There wasn't much she could do short of finding the nearest refrigerator and stuffing him in, or even shocking his ass. Finally for the first time since they left the base a few days ago, she grinned evilly. She could see his hair standing on end and frizzy from the electricity if she wanted to shock him… all completed with a WTF look. Then a fight would surely be on between the two but she would at least have her laugh in.

Only four days after they left the base, together Rai and Deidara found themselves just outside of the small village that was backed to the cliffs of sandstone that over hung nearly 300 feet high. The temperatures were warmer then Rai was used to however not nearly as hot as Suna was known for. Together they continued across the land, coming shortly to the village that looked more barren then the land around. "What is this place?" Rai asked to Deidara as they walked through. Her eyes scanned the many small buildings with random groups of rogue ninja talking quietly to themselves before turning all eyes to Rai and Deidara. Many looks were of disgust and fear where as very few actually had the nerve to whistle and go so far as to throw a vulgar cat call to Rai who scowled darkly.

Deidara tossed a sinister glare at the men over his shoulder; instantly shutting them up as they continued down the rocky street. "Don't pay attention to any of them, un. This is where most lowlife ninja stay between missions."

"Hm," she glanced around the small shops that were hit and miss open, but didn't pay another glance at the men she had passed while Deidara continued giving her a small push with his hand on the small of her back. Through the end of the second block, they came to fairly busy café that wasn't short of any loud, already drunk shinobi with a few women hanging off of their arms, completely sober. _Whores__,_ Jaci scoffed. _Where are the women with dignity?_

Rai didn't answer as she followed Deidara around the many people. The air was fogged with cigar smoke, sticking to her lungs, and the very sour stench of something she couldn't place. Add alcohol to the mix and she could feel her nose scrunch up in distaste. It was at the end of the room, through the many bodies of odor covered men, where a small fabric curtain door hung in the meek lighted room that led to the back where surely there was to be a few cooks. Deidara didn't pause before pulling the curtain aside with the back of his hand whilst Rai struggled to follow. Her cloak wasn't her own, seeing as hers was still a shredded mess that was hardly indefinable. This one that was not her own was considerably longer in length where she had to roll up the sleeves so she could at least keep her hands ready for any attacks. She still had to have her own cloak tailored to her small frame, which Pein had insisted he would have it taken care of.

Walking down a parallel hallway from the kitchen, Rai spared a sharp glance at a few men and women who looked up from their chores at hand but refused to say anything at the sight of blood red clouds. Instead they all stared as if watching an apparition of ghosts pass before them inharmoniously. Rai ignored the strange looks with her head still held high as they continued to a dark room just at the end. Only three feet in front of the white haired kunoichi, Deidara stopped and listened; placing his ear against the door until it was when he heard voices discussing something on terms. Of course in a very Deidara like manner, he rolled his eyes and opened the door all the same; not caring if they were in an important discussion. As far as he and Rai were concerned, they were an even bigger deal.

"Oh, you're here early," said a startled man behind a squatty desk. Rai did her usual quick scan of the room, looking for any wires, traps, weapons, or threats that could essentially cause them trouble before letting blue eyes land on the tall brute like man standing in front of the desk, looking just as spooked with a grizzly beard and dark brown eyes. On his forehead through the messy hair she could see he was from sand. "Uh… We'll discuss this later," the man sitting at the desk said to the sand-nin.

"Right then." He started walking towards the door, letting his eyes look over Deidara-almost immediately losing eye contact at the cold blue- then to Rai. She could feel his eyes scan her body in the quickest second before looking back to her face-where he openly stared at her scar that stretched across her face that was now screwed into a deadly snarl. The sound of him gulping was the last just as the door closed on the way out, leaving Rai, Deidara and the short plump man behind the desk. There was a tense silence as the man openly ogled the two before him, never having an encounter with Akatsuki members before. Deidara's patience was running to the end of the line. "Do you have the information, un? Or did we waste our time coming all this way?"

Rai could feel the bitter temperature drop at his harsh words and she could feel her own dark smirk cross her lips. Strange to say but she loved the feeling of missions. The adrenaline started pumping and it was her own drug just as it was with all the other shinobi in Akatsuki. They had to love their job in order to be good at it. One thing that separated them from other rogue ninja was that they had a passion for it. A passion to take jobs that no one else would. With skills honed and bloodlust met, they grew to who they were and had a right to be feared. But that was the mission side of them all. In the end, they were all still humans.

"No-n-no! I have all the information," he stuttered out of his musings and opened the drawer to his desk with shaky stubby fingers. After a moment of rummaging around loose parchment and many pens falling, followed by a string of pleads to Kami under his breath, he finally found the scroll and set it onto the desk in front of him; just as Deidara was pondering whether it was better to blow the guy to hell and find it themselves. Rai watched the man nearly sigh aloud in relief, knowing that he found the scroll that was needed and her smirk grew.

He had unknowingly opened himself up for this one….

Deidara was already on the same track as her with their devious minds working alike. "That's the scroll, un?"

"…Y-yes."

Deidara said nothing and picked the scroll up before opening it and letting his single blue eye scan the lines before a disapproved frown stretched across his lips. Rai glanced from the corner of her eye at the man who swallowed nervously. "Have a look, hm," Deidara said to Rai as he handed her the scroll and stared straight through the man who was now starting to sweat profusely. The white-haired kunoichi did as told and took the scroll, looking it over before glaring-_willing_ the parchment to ignite into flames. With her anger clear as day through the dimly lit room, she rolled the scroll up and looked to the man.

"Is this a game?" she asked in the coldest whisper, effectively dropping the temperature to frigid stale air.

Complete terror bled across his plump face. "W-what-"

"You think you can mess with us and survive? To make a fool of us?!" She slammed the scroll hard against the desk and her chakra grew dangerously. "Where's the other scroll?! This is only half of the information!"

"B-b-but…I thought it was the entire… That can't be right-"

"And where do you get off calling us a liar?!" The lights above flickered from her rising chakra, lighting the room like lightning before the shattering of glass left them all in the dim room once again.

"I'm sorry… Please-please! I beg you not to harm me! I didn't even look inside the scroll to check! I didn't know!!" he begged.

"…..Well," Deidara said slowly, knowing that it was even more torturous to drag out the man's judgment. "You didn't look inside the scroll like we ordered, so we can't fault you on that, hm…. But if this happens again, be sure that you will be punished for wasting our time only for half the information we wanted," Deidara hissed darkly and took his scroll while leaving the other that was needed in the switch.

"Oh thank you! You are so merci-"

"Don't finish that sentence or you'll find that you are very wrong," Rai said in a low whisper with both hands on the desk and her leaning over like a cat looming over a startled mouse.

The man's eyes bulged fearfully and he nodded while she turned on her heels and walked out behind Deidara. Around they went through the many people and tables until they were once again in the sunlight. The bright sun was low and starting to melt into the horizon as they travelled down the street and out of the village, neither saying a word with their cloaks swishing soundlessly around their legs. It wasn't until the village was a small pinpoint in the distance that finally had Deidara burst into laughter with Rai joining in. "Can't believe he fell for that, un!"

"Oh that was genius!" Rai snickered. "Oh if only Kisame was here."

"Or Hidan, yeah. Could you imagine what that would've been like?"

Rai pondered the possibilities before her face dropped. Deidara chuckled until he found he was the only one still enjoying their little game with the man. With a troubled frown he looked to Rai. "What's wrong?"

She clucked her tongue off the roof of her mouth and looked to Deidara. "Now I wish Hidan was with ussss," she whined. "Imagine the possibilities that we could've scared him with!"

Deidara chuckled again and clapped his hand on her back assuringly as they continued walking. "Don't worry, un. We'll bring him along next time." Pause. "But I don't think you'll be able to keep yourself from laughing if he came."

Rai smirked, knowing he was probably right. "We can always make a day of it," she suggested. "You, Kisame, me and Hidan! That would be a lot of fun!"

"Leader-sama would kill us if he found out we were scaring the hell out of our sources, yeah."

Rai turned to him with a dry look. Even through the beginning of night fall, it was still clear. "…… You're sucking the fun out of everything, Dei."

"I just want to stay alive," he reasoned.

"Yeah right," the kunoichi said with a roll of her eyes. She started to walk ahead of Deidara as they started to cross into a thin forest that marked they were near the border. This she was grateful for. She enjoyed trees and shade. If the village was very far from the border then she wouldn't have been happy being stuck out in the hot sun. "Since when were _you_ afraid of death?"

"Since Konan-" Silence.

Rai turned back on the spot to look at Deidara suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"

Deidara sighed for the hundredth time after hearing that question for the two hundredth time. "Like I said before, you'll find out once we get back, un."

"And why not now?" Her hands were already tacked onto her hips and her eyebrow rose.

Deidara stopped next to her and rolled his own eyes. He had to admit that he was luck Konan wasn't this temper mental. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle her_. Poor guy whoever Rai ended up with,_ he mused. "Haven't we had this conversation before, hn?"

Rai growled and threw her hands into the air before continuing down the pathway. She wasn't going to have the same conversation if this was all the response she was getting. It just wasn't fair though! She wanted to know and she almost tricked him into telling her! Just what would it be that has anything to do about Konan? "I already know you two are bed mates," she called back to the following blonde bomber. "Everyone knows it already."

"Yeah yeah," he waved off. He already was aware that everyone else knew about them. Thankfully Pein wasn't upset over it, outside of the few-though dangerous- promises of what would happen if Deidara was to do anything to make Konan unhappy. The thought alone gave Deidara shivers and he quickly thought of a happier topic; one not replaying his death. He had to admit he was surprise when Konan told him that Pein wasn't courting her. Everyone in the organization thought so, even Itachi before he "died" and traded sides with those Konoha ninja. All the same he got the impression that they were a very brother sister relationship; much like Rai and himself. Then the question came in about Pein himself. He was a powerful, moral carrying, man. Surely he would have some kind of woman at his side….. unless he killed them all like Hidan… At this thought Deidara gulped and visibly paled. Kami! What if that was what happened?! Then he was at the merci of an even powerful sadist!!

Rai though was still running through the reasons Konan would have with Deidara, but continued to throw one thought out after another until…. BAM! She got it!!! "I know it now!" she exclaimed and spun around to Deidara, shaking the blonde from his tragic musings.

"Know what, un?"

"What you won't tell me!"

If Deidara could pale anymore, he did, though the night hid his complexions through the shadows.

"You're going to…………"

Suspense.

Grin. "GET MARRIED!"

Silence.

After a muted thud, Rai opened her eyes and looked to see her companion's reaction which was not what she had expected. The man had fallen backwards and was now staring blankly at the sky as if lost. All the stars and the beauty of the dark velvet sky were lost to him through the many thoughts running blindly through his mind. Marriage? He hadn't thought about marriage! If he was going to have a kid then it was only fit to marry right? What the hell had he gotten into? Both fear and glee filled him in a tight battle and he wasn't sure what he was doing, but couldn't help but feel the exciting rush that it all gave him. Suddenly his thoughts came to an abrupt halt when the kunoichi with white locks peeked into his line of vision with a very curious expression, much like a kitten. She stared at him through the silence between them that was only filled with the crickets in the distance and a few night birds. Minutes ticked by and after still not getting a reaction from the man sprawled across the ground, Rai looked up to the sky where the many stars twinkled upon her before she looked back to Deidara. "Was I right?"

Deidara only took a deep breath, letting his chest inflate before exhaling. "Not really," he said quietly. Rai only tilted her head at him and blinked.

"Really?"

"Really, un."

The kunoichi stood up straight with her hands on her hips and looked around the many trees that stood still against the sky. "You wanna make camp for the night then? We won't be able to travel with you lying across the ground, unless you want me to drag your body back!"

Her hopeful suggestion wasn't lost to Deidara who glared at her. "Psh. You're not going to be dragging me back, un. We'll stay for the night and pick up tomorrow." With that he sat up to a sitting position and watched Rai ignore him while picking up a few fallen branches and sticks for the fire while wandering deeper into the forest. She hadn't eaten and they hadn't brought any food, which was a slight shame. Then again they would be able to stop at a village in the morning and get refueled before they head back to the Grass Country base. She didn't know why they just didn't go back to Rain. Rai missed it. In fact, she hadn't returned since she was taken by Madara nearly two months ago…. The kunoichi paused after picking up a stick and her eyes grew distant at the lurid memories. _And it all still seems like only yesterday._

Shaking her head, she turned to walk back to Deidara when a sudden explosion of chakra shook her. Her eyes widened as the distant light from behind a few trees and a following BOOM echoed through the silence, sending flocks of birds scattering into the sky and the crashing of a tree that creaked and groaned unto the muted roll called that it hit the ground. Rai dropped all her sticks at her feet before sprinting around a few trees where she had left Deidara to find a broken branch and fallen tree in his place. With her heart leaping to her throat, she immediately scanned the pathway with viridian eyes through her platinum locks until they were drawn to three figures leaping through the branches at her left.

"Deidara?" She called out, trying to find which was enemy behind the veil of the night's blanket.

In place of an answer, she saw another flash of light 200 yards away with an echoing boom. Rai gritted her teeth and pulled her own kunai out with her bloodline already activated. Now it seemed to activate on its own when ever she felt nervous in the slightest way. To her advantage…

The cloud-kunoichi jumped to a high branch to push off into pursuit of Deidara and his attackers when she realized the branch she was on had been layered with explosive notes. "Kai!" was heard above her on a separate branch and before she knew it, her body was thrown to the ground where a full view of the sky was seen in a paused stillness before all air was robbed from her lungs from the impact of the hard ground.

A cry pushed through her lips and she blinked the small blur from her vision in time to see a rain of kunai hurling towards her. Rolling her back in the slightest arc, she flipped over her head, missing the blades that imbedded the hard stone ground. A presence was behind her before she could even stand and she was kicked in the ribs, sending her against the ground once again. "Damn it!" she growled under her breath and pushed to her feet before another of the two men could attack. She had to get her distance to get her bearings on the situation!

This time a third man landed next to her and made a swing to slice into her thigh, but all he met was a log in her place. "Where is she?!" he roared angrily whilst he pulled his sword from the log with both hands and a foot to the wood.

Rai took a deep breath with her back against the tree before she risked a glance around the branch to see the three men below her. All three wore the same light grey attire with a mask much like Kakuzu's and what reminded her of Sand's long sleeve shirts. Were they from Suna? Why would they be all the way over here? And what reason would they have to attack Akatsuki so viciously? They weren't giving her any chance to defend herself at all.

"There she is!" alerted another man who pointed straight at her.

_Move kid!_

"Don't have to tell me twice," she whispered aloud as she made a move to Deidara's bomb blasts that were now growing farther away. Sadly, two ninja countered her next branch and she was forced to retreat into the opposite direction. These three knew team work and exercised it to great precision which made it harder for Rai to stay focused on every one of them. However team work wasn't everything when they didn't use any jutsus. As she ran through the untouched forest with only the stars between the leaves as guidance, she was quickly forming plans. She would have to use something powerful and quick enough for them not to dodge but with the speed they used, it would be tough.

The third man appeared before her with a kunai at the ready with the two still following closely behind, but she was already expecting this move to their chagrin. The shing of her kantana was heard through the taps of their sandals before the clash of metal against metal followed eerily. The man hadn't expected her to have so much force; ending with him falling to a bruising connection to the branches below. The kunoichi spent no time watching the fall when the two others landed behind her. "Shiroi Mahou(white magic)," she demanded in her cold tone before swiping her blade across the air horizontally. Just with her luck, the two men were much weaker when not formed in the three man squad and both were hit with the white lightning blade. But as the first man that she knocked off had fallen previously, he had tossed an explosive note under her own feet that exploded, sending her through gravities pull.

Down she came, colliding with a branch to the backs of her thighs and the middle of her back before all came to a silent impact at the bottom of the ground face first. Shaken leaves fluttered from the tree below as if to hide her from the three men; her eyes struggled to open whilst she regained her breath and her grip on her blade tightened with each step the closest man took towards.

And just like that, green eyes shot open and the blade of her kantana bit into the man's leg, causing him to stubble backwards. "Ahh! Bitch!"

The two other masked men attacked, but Rai spun to her feet, intercepting the kunais and punches sent her way. Around and around they went, stabbing, punching kicking, everything they could to get through the enemies' barriers. It was a useless struggle on the men's part, because her speed was barely detectible before the blade gushed through their arm or leg followed by a punch to the stomach. Finally, both their movements were too slow while they tried to recover from the blows which gave her time to back flip away to safety. The first that she had attacked was still on the ground with crimson blood gushing out in uncontrollable amounts across the once grey pants and now soaked, puddle in the earth. Desperately he tried to stop the bleeding with a strip of his torn shirt and shaky hands over the wound. Sadly she had hit the artery and his only hope was in the woman who slowly turned away from him with her blade at her side and cloak billowing softly in the wind while her focus was on the two men before her.

It was then that she realized that they weren't trying to kill her. They were only keeping her away from Deidara….. But why? Did it have something to do with what he wasn't telling her? Inwardly she scoffed. That wouldn't be it. Perhaps he owed these people some money? Again…. No.

Then again it wasn't uncommon for him to have enemies, but they wouldn't keep her stalling just to kill him. Especially if she was Akatsuki as well. Just what was their deal here? "Leave now and you'll leave with your life," she ordered in a low voice.

The two men tightened their grips on their kunais and crouched lower into their stance with out a word. Rai narrowed her eyes at the non response. "That's the only generous action you'll get from me. If you don't take it, I won't even burry your corpses." The temperatures dropped drastically at those words, but neither of the two men made a move to either run away or even spare a glance at their team mate, still clinging to life by staying away with the blood now pouring between his clenched figure tips.

"You've just made a happy kunoichi," she grinned and pulled her blade up horizontally in front of her chest. She couldn't hear Deidara's blasts anymore from the distance and she had no reason to stick around her any longer.

There was a pause as nobody moved for the passing seconds before wind started to pick up eerily faster and faster until her hair was waving across her face like waves upon the shore. Her blade grew brighter and brighter until it was a dark blood blue and her grin turned darker. Every since she had returned to the base with Pein, he had taught her to hone her skills with her new fourth level bloodline….. Poor bastards didn't know what was coming. They better just be happy that the Amegakure God himself wasn't here to dispose of them. The men before her were started to grow anxious before they charged, not realizing that was what she was planning on. In they came towards her, closer and closer, when one masked man grew sense and jumped to a high branch in time as she stabbed her blade to the ground where lighting spurted up through cracks like waves, engulfing the man charging her as well as the man bleeding to death behind her. The cracks were louder then ever and illuminated the trees and leaves hauntingly through the night before it all settled to the dark and slow breeze, leaving the night as if untouched. Smoke reached to the skies off the two corpses, but her attention was now on the man that landed in front behind her.

Rai pulled her kantana out of the ground and in one fell swoop, she knocked the blade from him, though didn't expect him to kick her legs out from under her where she landed on her back and the grip of blade loosened. Rai wasn't given the chance to spin away before the heavy body landed on hers, sending punch after punch at her ribs. "Damn it!" she hissed while trying to block herself. With one hard buck of her hips, she sent him off balance, giving her time to twist them around till she was the one trading blows into the body below, though she added chakra to each punch. Hit after hit rained down upon him mercilessly until she took the moment when he was slightly stunned and winded to rip the mask off.

She had wished she hadn't when it revealed thin lips stretched across naked fangs much like Kisame's, with the exception that they were rotted and not nearly as charming as Rai could only say Kisame had.

With wide green eyes, she jumped off of him out of instinct and grabbed her blade. "What are you?" she asked as the man stood to his feet and she watched him with wary eyes. "You're tricky to kill but aren't a shinobi."

"…I'm a demon." He replied simply with a course deep voice while he pulled the mask over his face once again and started circling to the side, still twenty feet away but not taking any notice of the corpse of his companion that he carelessly stepped on with a sickening crunch.

"A demon? What do you want with Deidara?"

The man said nothing and watched her from the corner of his eye but didn't take anymore steps. He seemed to be looking to something off in the distance and for a moment Rai was going to go ahead and kill him. No use prolonging his death….

But curiously she looked to the source of his attention to the darkness of the trees where Deidara was suspected to be. There weren't any more lights or echoing booms which honestly scared the kunoichi. Was he still alright? What was she thinking? Of course he was alright. These men-demons-weren't even tough once you broke them from their team mates. In fact they would barely make it as jounin… BARELY.

The demon's attention was still at the darkness in the trees when a shift in the shadows alerted her to the presence of another. Green eyes rolled and she pulled her blade across to her again with a careless, bored expression. She would kill these two men… or demons…. Here and now. This was starting to get ridiculous.

It was before she could carry out this idea that a clapping and dark chuckle stopped her thoughts that echoed through the night and it was then that she realized just how… _quiet_… the night was. Not an owl, or a cricket…. Nor bat. Even the wind in the trees and the sound of rustling leaves sounded muted. It was as if the small part of the forest was suddenly drawn apart from the world… A sickening chill ran through her spine; her knuckles turned white against her handle on Jaci.

_Run…._ Jaci ordered in a clipped urgent tone. _Run now!_

But Rai couldn't as the clapping stopped and she turned her eyes to the same spot slowly. All thought had halted but her heart was kicked to a full gallop. Slowly from the shadows emerged a tall man as if the darkness melted around him and the moonlight from the small canopy of trees ahead allowed her to see his full figure. A tall man in black robes that matched the darkness beyond the tree line and unruly brunette hair matched with a jarringly set of yellow eyes that clashed with viridian green. Her breathing stopped in her throat and a bead of sweat raced down the side of her face that was now drained of color.

There he was… standing before her with his now apparent suffocating chakra that was beyond Madara's. This had to be a bad dream. A nightmare! A haunting from the effects of the Sharringan's past abuse and over use! Anything except reality….

The lean frame of the man stopped his walking thirty feet away and examined her from the distance before a grin broke past his lips, showing his own rows of pearly white fangs.

Kami…. Why did this have to happen?

"Rai," addressed the man in a smooth voice that sounded _slimier_ to her ears. A thoughtful expression came to him as if tasting the word on his lips while he continued to step forward before stopping again to drop his eyes to the body below. He lifted the still smoking corpse with the toe of his sandal before a coy smirk stretched his lips. "Hmm…" Again he looked back to the startled kunoichi with the corpse forgotten under him. "Been a while hasn't it?"

Finally Rai blinked and shook her head before she realized that this was indeed very real. She could almost feel her scar burn across her face at the memories but she took that to her pure hatred and loath towards this man before her.

"You can't run away from your past," he informed while stepping forward towards her with his hands in his pockets. "You can't run from me."

"It worked already," she said defiantly in a low voice and staring at him through her burning glare.

"No it hasn't." She visibly bristled as he got closer and a wicked snarl curled her lips. The man only smirked and took a few more steps closer but in a much slower fashion. "You can't tell me that you were lost… Or were you?

"I was never lost. I knew where I was."

"Oh? Please do inform me."

"I was home." She purposely pronounced every syllable slowly to get her point across, but a disturbed scowl fell over her pale features when he chuckled heartedly; a sound like poison to her ears that burned the silence.

"You? A home? Since when?" His chuckling ceased and he grew serious as he reached her, but she refused to run away. There was no more running from her past…. But he would be damned if he thought she was going to leave Pein behind for this slimy bastard. Instead of stopping in front of her, he instead circled around her, letting his eyes wander down her curves and growth. Her white locks rolled down to the center of her back with black highlights mixed through. She had grown into a beautiful woman and the fact that the scar across her creamy face was still as pronounced and deep as ever only pleased him more. Rai didn't move, still fighting down her fear of this man as well as the tears that everything she knew and fought for was in the end for nothing……

She wished she would've died in Konoha…..

_Don't think like that! You know it isn't true_, Jaci snarled from her deep conscious.

_But…_

Sudden as the wind the man was at her back making her shoulders lock stiffly and her breathing hitch, and she jumped from shock. The strong stench of metallic blood was coated over his normal musky spring scent that she had grown to find disgust in. "Haven't you figured it out yet, Masaru? I have no interest in helping you."

Masaru pulled her hair away from her neck while she stayed staring ahead into darkness; praying that Deidara was safely away and wouldn't come this way to "help" her. The man dipped his head to the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent along her skin only to pause as a different scent was mixed with her own. Rain and citrus…. The scent of another man…. The thought made him sneer against her neck, letting her feel the edges of his razor fangs that made her shiver from the fear that had suddenly struck her before she managed to calm her thoughts and take a shaky breath to regain her composer. "Since when did you stop calling me Master?" he growled against her skin.

Rai swallowed that didn't go unheard by Masaru's acute demonic senses. "Since I refused to have anything to do with a monster like you," she managed to snarl.

"Still cocky as ever." She was suddenly gripped harshly on her shoulders and spun to face him. "You have no hope from escaping from me this time, Chigiri. You are rightfully mine thanks to your father."

"My father was a fool! I was never his to trade for his own freedom!" she snapped.

"You're father was a fool, yes," he agreed. "But that doesn't change that you belong to me." As if to prove his point, his left hand moved to her bare right wrist and pulled it to eye level all while she tried to jerk away. "This here shows that you will return to me." The burn was all she felt as the seal darkened to the cross of four symbols that she had always covered with bandages before. The four symbols darkened to reveal four words: Sin, Life, Judgment, Death.

Rai stared in mild shock at the seal before narrowing her eyes, not looking at the man pressed against her. "Only if you drag my bleeding and broken corpse back."

"Is that how you want it?" the question came out in a courteous, yet serious tone but at the quick glance at yellow eyes, she saw the wry mirth. She couldn't find her voice to retort like her usual smart ass self. Still haven't recovered from the month's prior all the way…But it wasn't like she could find her voice once he took her silence acceptably and pushed her hard against the nearest tree with his body to hers. The lone shinobi…demon, stood back and watched his master deal with the woman at hand.

The kunoichi's mind was fuzzy with fear and anger at the man against her but she couldn't bring herself to do anything knowing it would only put her into a worse position. She had learnt from her instincts the hard way and knew following them was the smartest move in any position when they were screaming to her. This situation was like stumbling upon a wild predator that was only focused on finding its next meal. She had to take each step with nerve-wracking wariness. Then again when a 6 ft man with unruly brunette hair and piercing-heart stopping yellow irises was pressed flushed against Rai, wrapping her in warmth that she shamefully found slightly comforting through the cold evening air, all thoughts were a jumbled mess through pure fear and loath.

Masaru looked down upon her and could already feel his arousal start at the closeness of her matured body against his. The urge to take her as his was primal instinct and he subconsciously pressed against her harder; feeling her curves against his chest. He wanted to mark her again to show he had found her. Found the source that would spread his plague among the shinobi nations. But he knew his self control was vital at that moment. He now knew she was alive and where she was. _Akatsuki_….

The organization was fit to be a well known and feared threat. Even he wasn't foolish enough to pick any fights with them, knowing that he would loose many men to the criminals. How fitting for his weapon to join them. It would make this very fun for him. A nice game. What was the saying again? Throw a fox among the chickens? She wouldn't even know she was the source of the problems that arose until it was too late. Masaru had no interest in causing war among the Akatsuki. Perhaps they would even be willing to join him. It was a pleasurable thought that he would entertain later…

"Would you like to know how I want it?" he whispered to her. Rai kept her eyes away, feeling her resolve break slowly as memories from her past incidences with him as well as Madara flooded every logical thought. She wasn't ready to take him on and the tears were already starting though she kept her face blank with the exception of her still fiery ignited eyes. Again she swallowed as a tear drifted from her dark lashes and slowly crawled down her cheek. Masaru saw this and a sinister smile appeared before he leaned down to her and licked the salty liquid up. Rai shivered and tried to push him away with her spiking chakra but stopped knowing that if she fought this man here then Deidara, wherever he was, would know where to find her and this demon.

"No," she replied weakly.

The thick stench of blood was caked to his warm breath and she couldn't imagine what he had killed to have such a smell not only on his breath but to his entire scent as well. He was usually a clean man that always had the scent of spring air and flowers; a major contradictory to his skills. Not to mention but he was the type to stay in control of all situations meaning that if he had to quench his bloodlust then it only meant there was no longer a village somewhere with life….

Masaru leaned back and examined her with the same eyes that she felt were touching her all over and all she could do was try to block out reality by closing her eyes. She didn't want anymore games. She didn't want anymore suffering…

With a soft smile that went unnoticed by her, he cupped her cheek and used his thumb to dry under her eye. Rai opened her green eyes behind her dark lashes sadly but still stared any where but at him. If she didn't fight or struggle then Deidara would never know….. He would be safe. Her previous thought of keeping her gaze away from him was thrown from the window when she realized that she was willingly giving him access to her throat. Masaru had dipped his head low to her skin and licked the tender flesh up to her jaw, reluctantly sending goose bumps down her arms. "You're so submissive since the last time I saw you," he murmured darkly.

Again tears burned and she couldn't keep them in. Like a wave, the truth of just how weak she was set in and she felt her knees weaken all while she chewed her bottom lip carefully, trying to keep her sobs at bay—which she was very successful at.

"Do you know what I want from you, sweetheart?" he asked while ignoring her tears and instead settled for pulling the hair from her face.

"My power," she replied meekly. "Like everyone else."

"And do you know what I will do with that power?"

"….. Destroy the Shinobi Nations."

Again he chuckled but there was no mirth. "Not at all."

Through the blurry hot tears she looked to the piercing yellow. "Then… what are you going to do if not tear the villages down?" Did she really want to know?

Again the chuckle. "It's a little soon to be telling you such plans…… Why don't we talk about something else, hm?" His unruly brunette hair tickled her cheek before a sudden pain shot through her neck where he nipped her harshly to draw blood. Her eyes shot open but no sound left her mouth. "Like perhaps about this man that ignored the clear sign that you were not to belong to anyone else?"

"I-I don't think you understand," she said with her voice coming stronger. Her instincts were kicking in and she willfully allowed it to overshadow her once fearful thoughts. "There was a man that wanted to use me to start a Shinobi war and he was the one who unsealed me."

"Really now? And what happened to this man?" The look he studied her with was one of curiosity.

"He died. Uchiha Madara was his name." It wasn't the truth. But she refused to tell Masaru anything about Pein. He didn't need to know that she was in fact in love with another man that happened to be the leader of Akatsuki. If Masaru knew then he would take it as a challenge to kill Pein at any cost.

The innocent curiosity had vanished as if a shadow covered his face with the exception of his eyes. "The why," he growled and thrust her chin up to get another smell of her neck. "Would you still have his scent all over you?!"

Rai's breathing hitched and the sudden turn in attitude and tried to jerk her face away but his grip was tight just as she remembered. "Maybe you smell the man from the office we just came from-"

"Don't lie to me!" he sneered in her face. He knew there was another man and he would kill the troublesome bastard to break Rai of her spirit. Who ever he was he seemed to still give Rai strength and he didn't need that if he wanted to change the world.

"Well that's all you're getting from me. Do you think I'm a fool to tell you who he is?!" she snapped back in his face with her once fearful eyes hard. There a moment of silence as both stared at each other and the silence refilled the clearing until a sharp pearl grin spread his lips.

"It's only a matter of time."

"You won't get your hands on him."

"Are you going to stop me?" he asked mirthlessly as he released her chin and the pain from the awkward position released in her neck and spine. "You can't stay away for long before I find you again."

Rai only glared with new found loath at the man before her. She knew what he could do and she was much stronger and smarter then she was when she was 16. If he thought that he could buffalo her into submission then she would fight back her fear and show him that he shouldn't underestimate her. She would stand between this demon and Pein unless it was Pein who wanted to kill him. Then she would gladly step aside with a cheeky grin.

"Let me tell you a secret," he said to her with his aristocratic features abundant in the limited moonlight and a wind ruffled his shimmering hair. His eyes almost looked ethereal as they nearly glowed through the shadows. "You send this man my regards and I'll take the time to meet him, yes?" Rai said nothing. "And if he doesn't forget about you and move on, then I will be the one to help him move on to Hell," there was a pause as she bristled in front of him before he continued with a menacing smile, "And he won't die. He'll live but only with the faintest breath in his lungs," he leaned closer, "With the smallest drop of blood in his veins," Closer. "The weakest beat of his heart." Now his lips her brushing against hers. "And the quietest whisper left in his being."

Tears of pure ashen hot rage filled her and with all her chakra directed into her finger, she stabbed his shoulder, sending a black strip of lightning to impale through his flesh and out through his back, continuing nearly 200 yards into the forest illuminating the many trees that weren't in its path and forced to fall in weakening heaps. The leaves and branches above were shaking wildly from the force and loud crack like firecrackers set off until all was deathly still as if on pause. Masaru was pushed from the force twenty feet away but still standing with blood bucketing and spurted out in painful amounts. Rai was glaring at him from against the tree though all she felt was fear when the golden fury filled eyes landed on her and she swallowed. She shouldn't have done that but hell she didn't regret it one fucking bit. There would be a lot more if he even dared to hurt Pein or anyone else she knew. That was for damn sure!

But even with her resolve made, that didn't help the sudden panic that shot through her as he stood up straight with blood trailing all the way to his fingertips only to fall to the earthy floor. In his other hand, a ball of chakra began to form in a heated yellow that was outlined in a spiky black chakra source. "Run," he growled in the lowest whisper that Rai could barely hear, the threat telling her that he was becoming bloodthirsty…. All for her blood. "….Run."

She didn't have to be told again as all chakra surrounded her and she darted out of the clearing in a ball of green light-grabbing her kantana that lay across the ground where she had dropped it. She ran with all she knew through the forest while her head darted side to side, looking for any sign of Deidara…. But never looking back. Never looking back. All sounds were lost in the immense wind that burned her ears cold and her eyes struggled to see farther through the darkness as she had willed. It was almost as if she felt Masaru breathing across her neck from behind, and the rush of her heart wasn't from her adrenaline but from his close body that was against hers.

"Deidara!" She called in a panic. "Deidara! Where are you?!"

Suddenly she collided hard into a chest nearly knocking her to the ground if it wasn't for the grip the man caught her with. "No! Let me go you fucking bastard!" She yelled and again summoned chakra to her hands.

"Rai! It's me, un!" called the struggling blonde that managed to push Rai from her scenario. "What happened-Are you hurt?"

Green eyes melted to her natural blue, but she didn't answer right away. Instead, with her chest heaving, she looked behind her for the first time to see only the empty silent forest before she turned to Dediara's worried expression. "I'm fine," she lied though it was more the obvious to her blonde bomber friend. "I was just scared that I had lost you in the fight somewhere." That was a partial truth….

Deidara looked to her distressed eyes and harsh breathing but didn't push it. He would find out what happened soon enough but she wasn't in any shape to tell him now. Instead he tried to lighten her worries. "Yeah? Well thanks for your faith in me, un. Those ninja were a joke!"

"Yeah." _Why was that?_ Masaru was strong but his men were beyond weak. Like two different sides of the scale; 1 being the weakest and 10 the strongest. The kunochi though only shook her head, too tired to think about it now.

"Ready to go home, un."

**So what did you think of Masaru? Kinda creepy huh? Just wait to see what he does later and not to Rai or Pein but another member of Akatsuki!!**

**Let's see if Pein can give Rai back her strength and heal her from her terrible fear! Thanks for all the amazing reviews and fav's!!! Not only story but author too! Love them!!**

**You know what I really love though?**

**Reviews!!! The more reviews the faster I update! **


	3. Healing takes a step

**Hey?! Where did everyone go? Did Masaru scare you off? **Glares at Masaru who grins** I'm going to make Pein chase you down if you don't stop scaring off my readers!**

_**Masaru: **grins** I'd like to see you try…**_

****Okami tries to strangle him but Deidara holds her back****

_**Dei: Stop, uh! Violence isn't good for the baby!!! **_

****Sigh** Disclaimer… Still a disappointment that I have yet to own the characters outside of Rai.**

Relieved. That was all Pein could feel when Rai walked through the door of the base with Deidara behind. Ever since the meeting with the new kage, Naruto, he had been anxious, on edge the entire time. There had even been a few moments when he had decided to go out and bring her back himself, but Konan only reassured that he was over reacting. He didn't see it as such, after all, he had a good reason to act like that after all that Madara had put them through. Just the memories alone were enough to boil his blood, but he kept any emotion from reaching his stoic features. Rai was back safely and that was all that mattered.

Deidara closed the door behind him with his usual wide grin in place before he spotted Pein. Surprised by the blonde's next action made him blink as Deidara rushed to him before engulfing the Akatsuki leader in a bear hug, stunning the Rinnegan user into a skeptical twitch of his eye. Rai blinked and watched with a slight fearful expression of Deidara's strange behavior at actually hugging Pein who looked strangely uncomfortable. It was to be anticipated she supposed when she no doubt knew he had expected it to be her that ran to embrace him other then the now _insane _bomber.

"Get off," Pein ordered coldly when he recovered from the shock. Deidara did nearly instantly but there was no embarrassment seen in his twinkling blue eyes.

"I have to tell… uh, ask you something," he said with a knowing finger pointed in the empty living room. He didn't wait for Pein to ask, or even lash out at him, before he nearly skipped to the room, waiting for Pein to follow. The said man looked over to Rai who was watching the retreating Deidara with a skeptical raise of her elegant brow before shaking her head. Sighing, Pein turned, deciding he better go see what Dediara was up to before he hurt himself by hugging the next man to enter the room, which if Pein was lucky it would be Hidan.

"You try that stunt again," Pein started as he entered the living room to see Deidara smiling brightly despite the dark promise that Pein was beginning to state before stopping. "_What_ are you on?"

"On, un?" Deidara blinked at the strange question.

"Have you been sniffing the Sharpies again?" Pein asked darkly with suspicious narrowed eyes.

"Uh… no." The answer didn't convince Pein but he waited for Deidara to continue. "I was wanting to ask you for your permission to," Deidara looked around carefully to make sure Rai or any of the other members weren't around before whispering loudly from across the room, "marry Konan…"

Pein had to strain his ears to hear but he had caught the two words in crystal perfection. There was a long pause as he studied Deidara through ringed eyes, making the blonde look away nervously with a finger tapping his thigh awkwardly. Now the realization of just what he had done to the Leader was setting in and he started to greatly regret it.

He had to admit that Deidara asking him for permission was… shocking. Respectful but still shocking. Pein wasn't her father, but more of a brother figure as well as Leader so it only fit, but the fact that this homicidal bomber actually had high respect and responsibility to take it upon himself and ask was something Pein never thought he would see. Now to work on Kisame and Hidan and the group would be set. Even so he knew that he would never get Hidan to say the word "please" but it was wishful thinking. "You have my permission," Pein said slowly.

"Thanks, yeah!" Deidara yelled happily and leaped over the couch, coming straight at Pein with his arms wide and a crooked grin.

Ringed eyes widened momentarily before stepped only the slightest to the left and out of the line of fire of the running blonde who leapt in midair before crashing hard to the ground where Pein had stood moments before. As Pein stared at the crumbled heap of Dediara who groaned when his head had hit the wall, he felt a wave of satisfaction though his facial expression didn't give it away as he stepped over Deidara and left the living room in silence as a ghost. He had other important things to deal with that concerned a white-haired kunoichi.

He followed her chakra trail all the way into their room where he frowned before opening the door. It was no doubt that she was troubled when she returned. Her lack of reaction towards him was enough for that. In fact it troubled him deeply. It wasn't like her to not say a word or even laugh when Deidara acted stranger then usual. To be expected from the blonde's behavior alone was that she would have shot a few teasing comments to the blonde or….. something, but she only shook her head as if it was nothing that she cared about before disappearing. As he opened the door, he was met with an empty room with a large…larger then normal bed on one end where a tattered dirty cloak lay at the foot of it. The door to the bathroom was closed and a small shaft of light was shining brightly from under with the sound of the bath water running.

Pein smirked while closing the door behind him and walking to the cloak. Maybe he was over reacting… After all she may be tired and that would explain her strange behavior. It was true that she hadn't been able to go out on any missions since she came back with him from Konoha, so it was to be expected that the mission wore her out. Perhaps a nice nap curled up to him would help… The thought made him smile to himself as he picked her cloak up to take it to get cleaned as the water was turned off from the bathroom. It was suddenly silent in the room as Pein stared at the closed door. Oh that reminded him… He reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out her necklace of a silver choker with the scarlet ribbon intertwined with the links and the onyx shuriken pendant. The once blood red stone was missing from her fight with Madara which brought a frown to his lips. He would have to fix that before he gave it back to her. With that in mind he set it back into the safety of his pocket just as a sudden ghostly crash came from the bathroom followed after a startled scream.

Forgetting the cloak in hand, Pein rushed to the bathroom door and opened it to find blood pooling across the floor and Rai naked and curled in the corner of the bathroom with her knees pulled tightly to her chest and hands holding her ears. Tears were flowing wildly down her cheeks with sobs leaving her shaking body. As he stepped closer he could see blood deep in the roots of her white hair above her forehead that was bleeding profusely.

"Rai," he started, drawing her attention as sudden dread filled him at the sight of her. She glanced at him with shimmering green eyes before the small drip of the fosset made her flinch while pushing her hands to her ears again and another sob left her. Now Pein realized what had happened. The drip of water had no doubt scared her from the hours of water torture she had endured with Madara… Quickly he pulled a towel and leaned over her, blocking the view of the bath with his body and lifted her up carefully. She was still shivering and hugged the towel around her as if it could protect her, not caring that she was naked in Pein's arms bride style. Gently, he walked around the bed before he set her on the mattress with her legs over the side and wrapped the towel around her body much like a cacoon while kneeling in front of her knees. Rai held the towel closer and watched him as he raised a hand to her now bruising temple with his thumb rubbing over the purple yellow like stain.

"I-I fell…." She said quietly while his eyes turned back to her.

"Well you tend to be clumsy," he said lightly with an attempt to make her smile. She did although slowly before it shrank.

"I…the water…" she tried to explain but he leaned up and touched her lips with his briefly.

"You're ok now." With that he stood up and walked into the bathroom again before coming back with a first aid kit. Again he kneeled in front of her and set the box to her left with the lid open for him to pull supplies out as it was needed. In his other hand was a small rag soaked in warm water that he used to softly dab her face where the blood was caked on from the wound but her shivering made him pause. She was cold and a thin towel wasn't something that would keep her warm. Glancing at Rai, she didn't look at him, from what he assumed as embarrassment before he took off his cloak and wrapped it around her.

Rai blinked and turned to look at the man in front of her before smiling again at Pein as he went back to cleaning her wound. Still smiling she slouched deeper into the cloak with it being pulled higher over her shoulders and inhaled his scent, letting all troubled thoughts leave her mind. It was amazing that just his sent alone had that power over her and she relished it. She suddenly felt safe all over again as she started to relax until a sharp pain entered her skull. "Ouch," she muttered.

"Sorry," Pein said with an apologetic smile before reaching over to the medical box and pulled out iodine. "This will sting."

And sting it did. She winced as he applied the medication, feeling a little of the liquid starting to roll down her face but he caught the drip with the corner of a rag. As soon as the pain started, it stopped. Green eyes bled to blue as she deactivated her bloodline and watched Pein rummage through the materials next to her before finding some other medicine. Smiling at the care he seemed to be taking up with this, she pulled the box into her lap, hoping it would make it easier for the orange haired man instead of leaning over to reach it. He seemed to appreciate it after he flashed her a heart throbbing smile and leaned up to kiss her one more time before going back to her wound. "Perhaps you should have music in the room when you take a bath," he proposed. "I would think that the water wouldn't startle you if there was other noise."

Rai frowned at her own weakness and Pein seemed to notice as he watched her carefully. She didn't say anything at first, just sat there and allowed Pein to finish clotting the wound with a thin ointment. An uncomfortable silence settled over them and Rai bit her bottom lip in thought. She was scared and once again she was showing just how weak she was. The memories of her kidnapping and the recent run in with Masaru was pushing her close to the edge, making her want to be left alone and cry it all out, as if that would help. She knew well that it wouldn't but she didn't know what to do. Too deep in her thoughts, she was unaware of Pein letting his hand fall on her lap while he stared intently on her face, picking out apart all of her emotions.

"What happened Rai?" he asked softly, bringing her out of the fearful memories. Although his eyes and voice were soft, his expression was hard.

"What?"

"On the mission? There's something bothering you."

"…Nothing," she said and backed it up with a shake of her head though quickly regretted it after the pain increased. "I'm just tired from it, is all…"

Pein studied her in disbelief and it only added to her anger at herself for being so easy to read. "Rai. If something happened I want-"

"I told you nothing happened!" she snapped but blinked a moment later and regretted it.

A flash of hurt crossed Pein's eyes but was immediately replaced by his emotionless mask he never wore around Rai. He didn't say anything as he sighed in disappointment and stood before walking out of the room.

"Wait- I'm sorry," Rai started when she realized that she had offended him, not to mention hurt him, but all she got in reply was a door closing shut, leaving her alone in the room. With an angry grimace she turned back to look at her knees while she bit back tears. Pein was only trying to help her and she had yelled at him... It frightened her and all she could do was sink lower in her self doubt. With tears leaking and burning her skin, she fell onto the bed with her face buried into the pillow and a sob racked her body. Pulling the cloak tighter around her, she cried at her own weakness.

* * *

Rai sat at the end of the bed with Pein's shirt pulled over her and hunter green cargo capris. She sat with a firm frown and both hands placed on either side of her with her shoulders slouched while her feet kicked back and forth against the side of the bed; a book lying forgotten by her side and opened face down on the comforter where she had left off of. The tick of the clock on the dresser was all that she listened to. The tick tock tick tock being the rhythm she bounced her legs to while her blue eyes stared off in the dark room with a distant glaze. Guilt was being merciless on her conscious as if pounding against her like waves on the reef and dragging her farther and farther under until she couldn't breath anymore. This was starting to wear down whatever resolve she had with moving past all that had happened and although she looked calm if not lost, she was a raging storm within. Not something she knew was good for her or anyone else for that matter.

But Masaru was back and had brought along a string of threats to her and all she held dear. Life wasn't ready to let Rai breathe and recover while the same could be said that Kami was considerably busy while ignoring her prayers that this was all a dream. But it didn't take a fully functioning sane kunoichi to know that it was in fact reality. Still she tried to think, or even convince herself to wake up from this night mare. Nothing seemed to be going her way. All she wanted was to live a life in Akatsuki peacefully. Hell she could forgive Kami and whoever pulled life's strings about Madara, but what on this green earth would bring her luck to a path of Masaru? The Demon himself must have very well known connections to the supernatural. Shaking her head she paused in her kicking before picking it up once again with a sigh.

Masaru had acted… strangely. If he didn't want to destroy the Shinobi Nations then what did he want her power for? There wouldn't be any other use for her right? She knew he had no interest in her bearing an heir as Madara had which she was more then grateful for, but that didn't mean that her worries were over. Surely in that sick and twisted blood lusted mind of his, he had something up his sleeve that she would find worse then anything before. And why did he let her go?

He came, he threatened... he let her leave. What was his reason for that? Pein, much like Madaru, only did things as well as allowed things to happen for a deeper reason or goal. Much like Pein returning her to Konoha's borders the first time they met with full intentions of seeing her again. The man planned his moves and never seemed to fail in getting what he wanted. Masaru was very much the same, however what he wanted came to a higher price then Pein's. If Masaru let her leave then what would he get from it? Perhaps he was too soon into whatever plans he wanted with her? But why would he be looking for her? The fact that he had men separate her from Deidara was enough for her to know that he had planned that meeting in the forest which suddenly sent a shiver down her back that she was so easily fooled into his traps.

_You know you'll have to tell them soon,_ Jaci proposed warily. With him being within her, he was all too aware at how close she was to the edge mentally. Madara had truly done a number on her head with the few weeks of torture.

Hearing Jaci's calming voice made her pause in her kicking with a dark shadow casting over her features and a frown between her brows. She had to tell someone? Did she? Why? They didn't need to know. No they didn't so she wouldn't say anything.

_That's not a wise choice, kid—_

_It was perfect,_ she ignored her kantana. She would pretend that it never happened. None of it. Like Madara and Masaru. She had heard of people blocking out traumatic accidents from their mind. Perhaps she could do that. Convince herself that what Madara did never existed….

_You do that and you'll cause yourself more problems--_

Again he was interrupted by a knock on the door that made Rai nearly jump out of her skin and bring her crashing back to reality hard as if she had been asleep, unaware of just how deep she was into thought; not to mention that she wasn't even sure what she was just thinking about as if it had all washed away. She blinked to find herself in the bedroom before looking around as if she had never seen it before just as a knock on the door echoed again eerily. "Rai. You didn't come down for dinner, un," Deidara's muffled voice implied in concern on the other side of the door. Rai stared at the door behind her but still didn't say anything as she glanced back at the clock on the dresser to see it was nearly 10pm. "Rai? Are you ok, hm?" he asked after getting no reply and his tone was starting to become anxious.

Knowing that he would soon be charging in at any moment, she curled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them before answering, "Sorry. I was just reading my book…and I must have lost track at time."

"Oh," Deidara said through the door. He was tempted to open it and welcome himself in, but ever since he had found her a few nights ago in the forest, scared out of her wits, she had acted differently. He didn't like it and knew that he needed to talk with her to see what the problem was. But she didn't want to talk with him; the wooden door staring him in the face still was enough of a clue to that. Instead he said his good night and went back into his room down the hall where Konan had disappeared to.

Rai watched from over her knees, the light under the door where Deidara's shadow was before he stepped away with his feet echoing down the hall. She knew he was trying to help, but she was worried. Not for herself but of what Masaru had said.

_(Flash back)_

"_Let me tell you a secret," he said to her with his aristocratic features abundant in the limited moonlight and a wind ruffled his shimmering hair. His eyes almost looked ethereal as they nearly glowed through the shadows. "You send this man my regards and I'll take the time to meet him, yes?" Rai said nothing. "And if he doesn't forget about you and move one, then I will be the one to help him move on to Hell," there was a pause as she bristled in front of him before he continued with a menacing smile, "And he won't die. He'll live but only with the faintest breath in his lungs," he leaned closer, "With the smallest drop of blood in his veins," Closer. "The weakest beat of his heart." Now his lips her brushing against hers. "And the quietest whisper left in his being."_

She could see the images clearly of Pein being chained to a cold leaking wall with black grime pasted over the cold bricks. His short would be torn and shredded to undignified rags that barely hung to his thin shoulder and starved figure. Masaru would no doubt find pleasure in ripping out every one of Pein's piercings savagely with glee. Deidara, Konan, Kisame, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Hidan…. No one else would be spared. Each would be torn from limbs and muscles before being fed to the demonic ninja. The images were playing like a movie and she jerked her head from side to side, taking in the pain from her head wound that made her mind fuzzy with throbbing. Anything to keep her mind from the negative thoughts was welcomed to her. She had to stay strong through this. What Madara did to her was a thing in the past and would never happen again. Pein would see to that. He would go to the ends of the earth for her. She knew it.

_Eyes to the horizon and keep your chin up…But while you wait, here's a question…_

_If you light an invisible kunoichi on fire, can you see her burn?_

The words of the stranger from when she was held prisoner rang through her throbbing head. What did that mean? Repeating those words in her mind like a mantra only calmed her nerves and all thoughts before drifted to her dark corner of her mind. Masaru was back but if Madara did one thing write since he took her it was giving her more power then before. Pein wouldn't leaver her and he was a God. No matter what he wouldn't lose to a low life like the Masaru so what was she thinking? The demonic Shinobi only wanted to mess with her head and he did for a moment there. But he would have to do better then that. She had her chin up and she wouldn't let this man take her down. She had a lot of healing to do, right? Best time to start was now. And now was time to find Pein and talk to him.

With that, she stood up, letting Pein's white pin striped button up shirt fall over her waist and snuggled her cloak higher over her shoulders, knowing it would be cold outside where no doubt Pein would be to clear his head. Once prepared for the bitter air, she pulled her long white locks from inside of the cloak and pulled it over the collar before walking to the door with her hands stuffed in her pocket. Suddenly they brushed against something cold and she carefully removed it to see before blinking. It was her necklace. She had thought she had lost this long ago but it seemed to always find her way back to her. Funny. With a bright smile, and her mood lifting drastically she pulled it under her hair and clipped it together before centering it over Pein's shirt. With her smile growing, she walked out of the room to find Pein.

Meanwhile, Deidara entered his room where Konan looked up from brushing her hair and smiled before is shrank. "What's the matter?"

Deidara sighed and took a seat next to her un the bed, letting his eyes wander over her curved frame under her short night gown that stopped just above her knees. "Rai is acting strange."

"She's probably tired is all," Konan shrugged but she kept her eyes on Deidara to watch his reaction.

"No that's not it." He shook his head. "She's been jumpy since we were attacked by those ninja, yeah."

"You were attacked?" Konan asked while furrowing her brows and letting her hand holding the brush drop to her side. "You didn't tell me."

"It wasn't a big deal-or at least I didn't think so. They were a bunch of weaklings, un and weren't hard to deal with at all." He paused and a troubled frown set in. "But Rai and I were separated and when I found her afterwards she was in a scared mess, un. Completely startled and sweaty…and pale like a ghost." Again he shook his head while Konan contemplated his explanation. "It just doesn't make sense, yeah."

"Well," she started slowly after a few moments of silence. "Maybe she is having a hard time getting over the kidnapping. She hasn't spoken a word about what that bastard did to her and we have no idea outside of rape and water torture. She has a near fear of the dark and I would be surprised if she panicked because she was found alone in the forest."

Deidara thought it over for a moment. It sounded logical enough but after a flash of her bright grin and rich laughter from the time before the attack when they were at the village made him think there was something that didn't fit. She was so innocent and lighthearted before. Her confidence even when scaring their source wasn't unlike her normal behavior.

* * *

His shadow stretched out in front of him, disappearing at the end of the roof before being continued onto the ground below. The wind was soft and bitter against his bare arms from his t-shirt with one hand behind him to keep him sitting up while the other hung haphazardly on his single bent knee. He hadn't meant to leave Rai when she was slowly falling apart and now he greatly regretted it. She needed him and whether or not she admitted, he knew. But with this new fear that she was put into danger again and the anger that she was broken from torture was in a raging battle within him. There was no way he could think clearly for what was best for her when all he wanted was to keep her close to him. The moon was full and bright against his back as leaves fluttered off of the branches around the base and into the air like celebrations through the moonlight.

He no sooner felt, rather then heard her approach. She walked in a ghostly silence that a skilled ninja learned from experience but the vibrations were evident on the shaky rafters of the roof top. He lifted a hand and combed his fingers through his orange spikes with his silver ring flashing in the white celestial light. Rai carefully sat beside him, not glancing over to the man who she suddenly embarrassed being near. They say, side by side, silent until she shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"I'm…Look. I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just that there has been a lot of things going on in my head and… well it wasn't right and I really am sorry," she said as her voice dropped off.

Pein smiled softly knowing there was no fault in what she did. He would be more worried if she denied that the entire incident didn't have any effect on her. "Bad day is all," he said shortly. "I'm expecting there to be worse in the future."

Rai frowned and the shimmer of her eyes drew his attention before he reached out apologetically. "Come here." She looked up and met his eyes with hesitation. "Are you going to make me wait?" he asked lightly.

The corner of her lips pulled and she scooted closer and into his inviting arm where he wrapped it around her shoulders. Pleased, he felt her head rest on his shoulder before he reached his other arm across from him to hold her tightly against him while he laid onto his back with her cuddled against him, the warmth of her breath being all he needed to fight the cold October air. "It will get worse before it gets better and I apologize for walking out on you."

Rai was surprised to hear him apologize and she sat up a little to look down on him. "It'll get worse?"

He nodded. "But nothing I can't handle," he added with a chuckle that made her laugh softly.

"You know me so well," she retorted teasingly.

"Maybe," he shrugged against the roof. "But it helps. It's not like you would tell me you had a bad day on your own. You are stubborn like that."

"Glad to hear you have faith in me."

Again he chuckled and pulled her closer while lifting his head slightly to drop a kiss on her forehead. Rai leaned closer to him, cuddled in his warmth. She had fallen for him and hard but like he had promised before, he was there to catcher every time. She wouldn't have made one change in her life if it meant that she would miss a day without him. His hands weren't the softest but were strong from a lifetime if fighting for survival nor were his words the gentlest, but deep down she knew he cared for her the same. She wasn't sure if she would call it love, mainly because she wasn't sure what love was. But what she did know was his voice made her weak in the knees and his laughter made her heart flutter while his lips on hers made her stomach flip. He wasn't perfect and wasn't the fastest but she didn't care, as long as he was strong enough to hold her tight. She saw his every fault and cared for every one tenderly. If she could call this anything it would be love and love was something she would fight for.

"I love your attire," he smiled but didn't make eye contact with her. "You should wear it more often."

"Really? I think it smells funny," she shot back.

"Smells funny?" he asked in mock offensive. "It can't be too bad if you continue smelling my pillow when I get up first from bed."

Rai felt her cheeks flush before she buried her head deeper with in his chest to hide her embarrassment. "You weren't supposed to see that," came a weak argument.

He laughed at her expense but didn't say anything else as they sat there staring into the sky with their own thoughts blissfully drifting past one another. A few minutes ticked and past before Pein felt Rai yawn against his chest. "You should go to bed, Rai-chan."

She shook her head no and stayed curled against him. "You're better then the pillow."

"Well we will have to see how true that statement is another time." When she didn't respond to the hidden remark, he knew she was starting to drift off. "Go to sleep, Rai."

She felt his arm around her tighten protectively. "But I have to tell you…about someone," she whispered and was soon after asleep.

Pein frowned down at her, shaking his head slightly. Carefully he rested her against the tile while he sat up with his cloak still snuggly wrapped around her. He lifted a hand and swept away a strand of his hair from his face and leaned over her before he moved his hand until if hovered over her face. His fingers flexed but he still didn't touch her that stayed centimeters from her skin. He stared at her as if contemplating on whether to touch her bruised skin or not. But he sighed a moment later and let his hand fall to his side while the other rubbed the back of his neck. The kunoichi was slowly coming around from the accident but the damage was still done.

Not to mention that this new threat was running around and he had….. regrettably allied himself with Konohagakura.

**Aww this is such a cute and sad chapter… I'm falling in love with Pein all over again!!! I don't know about you but I was grinning the whole time writing this. **


	4. Storm to settle

**Sooooooo Sorry everyone! But I haven't given up on this story yet! I don't have a reason for not updating in….**cough2years*** …but I promise it won't happen again! **

**Rai: It better not….**

**-_-; I know…. :( **

_Jaci talking_

_Rai thinking_

**Disclaimer: Rai is my imaginary voise in my head…. That I put on paper… :p Don't steal her! **

Three weeks had passed since Rai had the unfortunate meeting with Masaru in the forest, but even the distance of days and the stretch of weeks didn't seem to ease Rai's thoughts.

It just wasn't enough that even though the base held many distractions for her, she still would retract back to her thoughts. Since she had returned to the base with Deidara, she had become distant, though she still smiled whenever she was around the other members Hidan and Kisame would spar with her on a regular basis, trying to get her to open up a little bit more. She would engaged the two in the usual banter and insults as they dodged and attacked each other in their own game however once it was over she would return to the library to continue another book. Konan explained later that it was her way of escaping into another world and to keep her mind off her own thoughts. Though the other members weren't exactly fond of reading books, they didn't understand but shrugged it off anyway.

Rai was coming around, just slower then everyone wanted. Even the news about Deidara and Konan having a child had brought out celebration umong the criminals with Hidan whispering to Kakuzu about teaching the baby to be a true ninja. At this Kakuzu rolled his eyes, doubting that Hidan would even know what to do with a child, but he chose to keep it to himself. Kisame was excited and even more so after Deidara expressed that Kisame would be an uncle. However his excitement soon vanished when he realized that the baby would be so delicate. Let's face it, the blue shark-nin was far from gentle and fear of accidentally "_breaking"_ the baby was a little overwhelming for him. At this confession, Rai started laughing and again the teasing started.

Even she had to admit that it was exciting. She had never been around an actual baby before and this would be her first time. Sure she had been around children but not an infant. She couldn't wait to dress the baby up, hoping it was a little girl.

Pein had been pleased with the news but he had known for weeks. At dinner with the rest of the members during the announcement, he only nodded his head with the corners of his lips pulling upwards slightly in approval. It didn't escape Rai's attention when he had looked right to her during the announcement and she secretly wondered what it would be like to be in Konan's shoes with Pein. Her stomach had leapt and she couldn't help a bright smile from curling her lips at the thought. It may never happen but she was sure to entertain the idea in her head.

It was this thought that she continued to return to as she went through her days at the base. Pein had not given her a mission yet seeing as the only one they had at the moment was the one Kisame and Zetsu had taken just the day before. But she wasn't complaining. With the thoughts of running into Masaru again bigger then ever, she didn't mind staying inside the base. She had yet to fully recover from the trauma of Madara and the grief of losing Pein and her own life. She still feared the dark…still feared being alone….still feared her nightmares…. And still feared the drips of water.

The cloud kunoichi was restless at nights when Pein was no there to hold her just like she was at this moment, staring at the ceiling in the large bed. Pein had returned back to Amegakure five days ago to take care of some business, she only figured it was Kage business. Rai would find herself every now and then wanting to send him a letter with Karasu to see how he was doing, or how the village was that she missed so much, or even to see if he was thinking of her as she was of him. But shortly after she would throw the idea out, thinking to herself that she was just being weak and needy. This only made Jaci displeased. She was blocking her emotions, pushing them deeper inside and he knew they were starting to fester. Inside her mind where it was once a beautiful hilltop with light rain and green grass under a willow tree was now cold and damp. She may have been unaware of this but he knew all too well. The wind was harsh in her mind and what worried him the most was that some days it would get worse. The rain would pelt down hard and lightning would crack the sky with the tree moaning in the wind. A few times he had tried to convince her to train with him inside her mind but she refused every time, afraid deep down that the memories of the Sharrigan would resurface their ugly heads.

But the storm was calm for now as she lay in bed, listening to the tick tock tick tock of the clock on the dresser. It was beginning to driver her crazy. She wanted to do something but didn't know what. With aqua eyes glancing to the clock, she groaned and resisted the urged to throw a pillow at it. 2:42 am…..

What exactly was she supposed to do at this time? She wasn't interested in reading, God knew used a large part of her day doing that. After a moment she entertained the idea of waking one of the guys up to spar…

"Pssh, nooo. Dediara is with Konan sleeping… I hope," she said to herself. "Kakuzu and Hidan would wake up pissed and most likely get me back somehow…." _Kisame would but he was on a mission with Zetsu, _she reminded herself thoughtfully. "Damn it!"

She sat up abruptly and swung her legs over the edge of the bed before walking to her dresser. The lights were dim in the room, keeping her fear of the dark shadows at bay. The kunoichi was grateful that Pein was tolerant of her fear of the dark; however she was starting to lose her fear of it. Each night she would make the lights dimmer and dimmer each time, hoping to wean herself out of her fear and she was pleased to say it was working. Deciding to grab something to eat, she carefully opened the door and walked out into the hallway where she was melted into darkness. Taking a deep breath, she let her eyes adjust to the darkened hall before walking passed the doors towards the kitchen.

Not too enthusiastic to make something that required cooking, she glanced around the cupboards until she saw her desired ramen noodles. Careful not to disturb the other members sleeping, she pulled out a pot and filled it halfway with water before setting it over the stove. Lazily, she pushed herself up onto the countertop with her legs dangling lightly while her thoughts once again returned to Pein. She wished he was with her now, standing between her legs while her arms were wrapped around his neck; the warmth of his bare chest and breath fanning over her. With a sigh she shook her head. It was futile for her to try not think about him. It was like she had a string attached to him and the further he went, the harder it pulled at her heart.

_Well he did unseal you, kid._

_Yea but that didn't mean he had to go through hell twice just to save me either…_ Her head dropped lower. _No one has ever done that for me._

_It's because he loves you. Kid, you found a good man. Trust him enough to help you._ There was more meaning behind Jaci's words then he led on.

_I do trust him_.

_Then talk to him. _

He got a scoff in reply. _I do talk to him, baka._

_I mean talk to him about what happened with Madara and let him in when something is bothering you._

_Why would I do that? I can handle it myself._

_It's going to end up bad for you if you don't have him help you…. _

At this Rai stayed silent and turned her attention to the boiling water. Turning off the stove, she finished making her noodles, still mulling over what Jaci said. This wasn't a new conversation between them but she feared that what he said had truth in it. There was a lot of fear in her mind lately and she hated to admit it. Maybe he was right…. She would need to tell someone about it sooner or later. It wasn't like it didn't happen, as much as she tried to believe. A defeated and restless sigh left her lips as she walked towards the table in the dining room.

It was just as she stepped into the dining room that she felt an unmistakable spark. Before even her eyes would register, she had a kunai in hand and was already crouched back against the walls with her bowl of ramen on the table top. With her reflexes at its peak was a deadly advantage to her as she activated her bloodline, waiting for another mistake from the intruder. The base was silent, only the wind outside was heard. Carefully, she moved among the shadows, crouching low so the light from outside wouldn't hit her as she made her way to the other side of the kitchen where a second doorway stood frozen. Whoever was in the base was skilled. _They must have felt my chakra before they hid themselves_, she pondered as she stepped back to the hallway.

_Should I wake the others?_

_No. Whoever is here could escape by then. _

Slinking down the hall, she held her breath as she reached the living room and she scanned the couch and furniture with emerald eyes narrowing. Where had the intruder gone? It was then that bit her thumb and made her familiar seal before a low poof sounded through the still base. The limber wild cat stepped from the cloud with piercing eyes almost glowing in the dark. "There's an intruder in here somewhere," Rai whispered to Yuumei who understood immediately. Stepping out into the hall again, the duo made their way through the base, looking through the many doors and rooms.

Suddenly a low growl released from the enormous tiger's chest. In a flash the Siberian was charging down the hall a few doors down with Rai following just as silently as a leaf falling. Even still she was surprised at how light and silent the great tiger was though he was nearly 400 pounds. She felt sorry for the intruder soon to be found in seconds. Just as both burst through the door, Rai was met with the dark library with only a glint of a few shuriken flying towards her from across the room. She easily deflected both as she flashed towards the side wall, hoping to keep the intruder staying in the room. Yuumei was already on the ninja slashing his massive claws at his guts, missing as his claws only met the edge of his flesh. The shinobi grunted and leapt away before blowing a large fireball straight at the tiger. With a chilling snarl, he leapt to the wall before pushing off and back at the man who was now engaged in a clash of metal with Rai. Books and shelves fell off with a thundering crash unheard by the two combating.

Rai disappeared before appearing behind the man, sending a kick to the back of his head. He spun around in time to catch her heel and through her body over him and into a table with a lamp shattering across the ground. Rai's skin bit into the glass, making her groan in pain but she was unable to think about it as several fire spears were hurled at her. Flipping to her feet, she spun her leg out into a round house kick, sending a blue lighting wave to intercept the spears. Both chakras clashed in midair, lightning and fire, and a sudden explosion hit, sending both back into the wall. Dust and debris showered upon the two before the shinobi stood to his feet.

That was when Rai saw it. Two crimson eyes staring right thru her…

8***********88888888*************888888888*****************

A detonation exploded through the base, shaking the walls and waking Hidan and Kakuzu. "What the mother fucker was that?" Hidan cursed loudly. Kakuzu opened the door from across the hall just as Hidan threw open his. "If it's that cocksucker Deidara, I'm going to skin his ass!"

Kakuzu was about to comment before he was interrupted by Konan and Deidara joining them. "Is it an attack, un?" the blonde asked, looking between the two men.

"Who would be stupid enough to attack Akatsuki base in the middle of the night?" Kakuzu wondered aloud but he didn't wait for an answer.

"Sons of a bitch will be sacrificed once I fucking get my hands around their bitchy throats!"

Konan ignored the threats and made sure her kunai bag was strapped tightly around her thigh. "It sounded from inside the base… Just down the hallway."

Deidara looked around worriedly. "Where's Rai, un?"

Suddenly a ground shaking blast of chakra shook the base again causing the four shinobi to stumble before looking towards the library.

"Rai!" Deidara yelled before he bolted down the hall. Hidan ran hot on his heels, not bothering to grab his scythe, followed by the other two as they reached the library. A fog of dust clouded their view before another blast erupted and a body was suddenly shoved by chakra through the wall a few feet from the four Akatsuki who blinked when they saw who it was.

"Itachi?"

*****88888888*********88888888888*********888888888*****8****88888888888

The silhouette of the man stood starch against the balcony doors with his back to the office behind him. The crescent moon hung low that night, keeping the sleeping world shrouded in darkness. A dark smirk curled his lips as he looked down at the village, pleased that everything was going as planned and better. Now was just a waiting game as far as he was concerned. He would have to make sure he played everything smart from this point on. It was just up to how and where his target was that he needed to know before his strategy could be put into motion. With the breeze picking up and the clouds overhead covering the moon, he closed his golden eyes and took in the scents of the village, not missing how a familiar spice reminded him of the object of his plans. "When do you plan to retrieve her?" asked a voice from behind him, clearly impatient.

"Soon," was his short answer, not turning away from the balcony.

The man in the room shifted his weight displeased with the answer and a scowl setting in. He was impatient. He needed the girl and yet he was supposed to "wait". This was not what he wanted to hear. If this was going to be too much longer, he would be forced to return to his old ways.

"I must admit that I am fond of you," the man on the balcony said thoughtfully. "You are more of an animal then human. Do you not find it addicting?" At this, the man looked over his shoulder into the room; his piercing yellow glowing dangerously.

"It is more than addicting," he responded with a grin setting in. "And you have to understand that I must feed my hunger."

Yellow eyes returned to the night and he gave a considerate nod. "I assume that is why you are intolerant with me. You wish for me to have retrieved her already."

The man said nothing, only dragging his boney fingers through his long black hair. There was nothing to say to that. He was helping the man in front of him only because it benefitted himself after all. "There is a reason why Madara had failed. The fool had left loose ends then inevitably turned into his own noose. Who is it that could stop us?"

"The leader of Akatsuki, the same who killed Madara."

The brunette nodded and turned back to the room, leaving the glass doors to the balcony open. "If we are to take full control, we must destroy any hope that she has of escaping." The man sat himself down on the couch across from his guest. "She is weak, she is scared, and now she is second guessing everything."

"But if we wait too long…. She will regain her confidence and strength," the onyx haired man argued.

"Yes and that is why we will strike soon." A sick grin curled his lips and sharp fangs protruded in a gleam. "You will have your chakra source again Orochimaru, and I will have what is mine."

At this, Orochimaru grinned, "Do you really need the girl for your goals?"

"Tactics, Orochimaru, Tactics," he responded. "I need her power to take care of the Shinobi Nations. It is true that I won't use her to destroy them, but I will use her to keep them in order and obedient. All that will be over though once everyone is _changed_."

Thinking of what the Demon meant in front of him, Orochimaru's grin shrunk to a smirk. "We are in an agreement that myself and Sasuke are to be left un… err-_changed_, correct?"

"Do not be naïve. Only the majority of the population will be changed. It would be foolish of me to allow _everyone_ to become more. We do need the weak in society or else survival would be brutal." The brunette picked up his cup on the table and brought it to his lips before setting it back down, the liquid staining his lips red before he licked it clean.

Orochimaru's smirk disappeared as he looked down at the cup. Surviving would be brutal? This man enjoyed bloodshed on a whole different level. Demon country was already a violent area that survived off the weak. It only made sense that not everyone would be taken over and joined in an alliance with this man. But as far as he was concerned, he would overtake Konoha and after a few negotiations, he would be the Kage.

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_This fucker is going to pay! _

The thought gave her strength as she summoned more chakra to her hands and charged at the wall the man had disappeared through. Once he was in view twelve feet away, she released her chakra, sending lightning hurling at him in blinding speed, but he was up in seconds sending a wall of fire to block the white hot lightning from biting into him. Another crack erupted and the force from the two jutsus pushed everyone except for the opponents back. They were now aware of how powerful each attack was and the walls in the base shook again.

"What the fuck is going on!" Hidan exclaimed in anger.

"Rai!" Deidara yelled, hoping to get her attention.

But she was at Itachi's throat with her blade, blocking his katana from digging into her own neck. Both pushed away from each other, sending them back ten feet. "Why are you here?" she demanded with narrowed emerald eyes while she straightened up.

Itachi said nothing before charging at her again.

The four shinobi jumped back further down the hallway as Yuumei leapt towards the fight with a rage filled roar. His teeth clamped down on his katana and he tossed her head, lifting him off his feet and into the opposite wall but he twisted his feet, landing on it as if the wall was ground. He wasted not a second before running up to the ceiling, leaving a paper bomb on the floor.

BOOM!

The inside of the hall was shrouded in smoke as the ceiling caved in where Itachi was moments ago. Rai's emerald eyes opened as she tried to jump out of the way but a heavy board landed on her leg, crushing her to the spot. More debris fell upon her in a shower but she covered her head to keep anything from injuring her more.

"Rai!" Deidara yelled through the destruction.

"You fucking bastard!" Hidan cursed at Itachi who landed on the opposite side. "I'll cut your guts out right now!"

Konan ran to Rai, stumbling on a few boards before reaching her. "Are you alright," she asked with her face full of concern towards her comrade.

"Yea," Rai answered shakily before her glare was aimed at Itachi who approached slowly. "You take another step and I'll make sure you're dead by sunrise."

Itachi stopped though he knew the kunoichi under the board was in no shape to fight him with her ankle surely broken. He had not yet seen her skills and wasn't aware that her chakra was as forceful as it was… It was no wonder why Madara wanted to use her.

"I didn't want to fight," Itachi explained as Konan reached for her kunai bag, her glare full of distrust. "Obviously I startled you."

"You shouldn't come sneaking around a base full of sleeping shinobi, you buffoon," Rai snapped as Deidara pulled the wooden board off her ankle.

"What's your deal, Uchiha?"

"I was sent here to see if your kunoichi was actually here… Naruto-san has been afraid that the Demon Country may have apprehended her already…." Itachi trailed off in explanation.

"And sneaking in is a good way to see?" Konan asked as she stood up. "That's clever Uchiha."

"It has worked the last two weeks," he retorted earning a glare.

"You mean you have been sneaking in here while we have been sleeping to see if Rai was here?" Kakuzu accused.

"Hn… Like I just said."

"You sick fuck! I knew you were different but damn I didn't know you were that fucking weird," Hidan replied angrily.

"So this is how Konoha treats their allies? By sneaking around while we are sleeping?" Konan pushed angrily while stepping towards Itachi challengingly.

"You wouldn't have told me if I asked or let me see for myself otherwise," Itachi replied matter-of-fact like. "Besides it is probably best that I was caught. There have been attacks on teams in Konoha and Suna. It has been jounin and Anbu alike that return wounded after ambushes along the border by Demon Shinobi. We aren't sure why that is but we fear that other villages have been under the same siege. We are waiting to hear back from them as we speak."

"And you think we should care?" Hidan scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Thanks to your sorry ass Leader will be pissed when he sees this fucking mess! That's what WE are concerned about!"

"For once Hidan has a point," Kakuzu heaved a frustrated sigh.

"It's something that you should still mention to Leader-san," Itachi said nonetheless. Turning around, he sent one last glance at the glaring kunoichi on the ground, still nurturing her ankle. "I'll be sure to stop by and knock next time." With that he disappeared, leaving the rubble and five angry Akatsuki members.

"Those fucking Uchiha's think they are badass, un! Fuck them!" Deidara sent a punch to the hallway wall or what was left of it. "I'll blow his traitor ass up next time he comes around!"

"I'm beginning to think all Uchiha's are a waste of breath," Rai murmured as she stood to her sore ankle and looked around. "Sorry about this…. I didn't know he was on our side," she said in a low tone.

"It's not like you knew he was an ally. He was sneaking around like he wasn't, Rai, so don't worry about it," Konan explained calmly. "Besides, it was time to move out of this base and into Waterfall Country."

Hidan tossed a brick at the wall, breaking down another board that was still attached to the ceiling. "What do you fucking think Leader is going to do to us when he sees this?" No sooner did the words leave his mouth did another part of the ceiling come crashing down upon the five ninja. "Oh Jashin!"

"Grrr! You fucking idiot!"

**Ok. I'm going to end it there. It's not that great of a chapter but the next will be better. I know where I want to go with this story it's just getting to that point that is hard. Anyway I'm glad I'm back and it will recover from here. **

**Next time….. Kisame and Zetsu! And what will Pein say? **

**Until then…. **_**Which will be soon because I'm almost down with it now**_**… Please review! It will give me encouragement to update sooner and sooner!**

**AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL MY LOYAL READERS WHO REVIEW, FAV, AND WATCH MY STORY! Thank you! **


	5. A Fork in the Road

**Jello! Thank you for sticking with me through that last horrible chapter! Now to the good stuff! I'm getting my swing back!**

**Disclaimer: I have suddenly became the owner of Naruto and all characters….. But then I lost a bet and they returned to not being mine….. :(**

Sky was drained of color, the air growing pale and bloodless as the dying circle of the sun finally sunk behind the snow caps. The air temperature dropped and threatened to crack like ice across the star-littered sky of onyx velvet. A lone rising scythe like moon gave off a glowing light; a calling to the upcoming winter. The shadows reached out to the forest below and made its way to a small village backed up and cornered to the cliff. The slopes were blanketed with snow where a village lay with smoke rising eerily in the coming darkness. Hot ambers and ashes filled the village air along with screams and cries of fear and anguish on this cold fall night. And out of the windows and rooftops, flames reached its arms to the crescent moon as it licked and swallowed homes. On the far eastern end of the village, a house surrendered to the fire's whispering crackles; tumbling in a heap of rubble upon a mother of two.

Out in the safety of the front barren garden, the five year old girl stood-frozen as if a blizzard had ran through her veins. Tear-filled blue eyes looked over the cursed fire with pain and the deepest fear one endures when they find themselves alone. Gripping what left of her senses, her cries for help added to the fellow villagers who scrambled about what was left of the eastern part of the village. Never had they endured a fire such as this with their high altitude.

But then again this was no ordinary fire.

Only an hour ago was when the village was ambushed by a small group of shinobi. One, obviously the leader, had used a foreign incantation to set the village on fire as they scavenged for who knows what. When they had first arrived, the gruff leader with feline-features began to rant about a sacred scroll holding secrets of the Snow Country's capital village. When no one showed that they knew what he was searching for, he had erupted in a fit of rage claiming he would turn the village upside down to find it.

And so far he was true to his word.

Finally giving up on putting the never ending fire out, some of the men turned, looking for the rabid shinobi. They didn't have to look hard before they came across the group of bandits slinking up to the young five year old girl who desperately rummaged through the remains if the house in search for her mother and newborn brother. The small girl was too caught up in her search through a blurred vision of tears that she didn't take notice to the shadow that now smothered her trembling form or the snickering of the five shinobi behind her.

"Well, look what we have here-a little snack," sneered the leader as the others snickered behind him. "Look here, girly. Your mother is dead, so stop this crying. I happen to like a silent meal."

The girl let out a gasp and spun around to face the gruff voice. Seeing the demon like man standing so close, she fell into panic and could only stare. She still couldn't make out their looks through the flickering flames and cover of darkness. But her mind was able to register a hand reaching towards her. Long yellow, blood coated claws reached for her soot covered gown. She couldn't move. Too afraid to look at the shinobi, she squeezed her eyes shut, wishing this nightmare to end. Another gasp escaped the young girl's lips as a hand pulled her from behind.

"Stay away from my daughter!" warned a hoarse voice from the form that had pulled the girl away.

There was a pause from the Ninja before he scoffed, "so you're still alive, eh?" He took a step toward the half buried woman and kicked her in her bloodstained face. There was a loud crack as his sandal made contact with her jaw. The woman, fighting unconsciousness, turned her head and smiled sadly at the frightened girl. She didn't know why she smiled. It confused her.

But as she stared at the fear and dread on her daughter's doll like face, she could only smile. Only smile at her daughter that she failed to keep safe. What had she done to have her daughter deserve such fate? What about her? Why did she have to leave this world in such a cold manner? She would say that she smiled to comfort her daughter, but then she would be lying. Knowing that this was the last time she would gaze at her angel's face, she smiled.

By the time the village men had arrived to the scene, the leader had gripped the screaming girl as the others continued to beat the semi-conscious woman in the rubble.

"Stop," called out a middle aged man. "Stop this foolishness and see sense! Can't you see we don't have what you are looking for? Just let the village go."

The ninja paused and re-gripped the girl who continued to struggle and cry for her mother. He looked at the source of the interruption. His pit-less black eyes landed on the handful of villagers at the end of the street. "You think that you are actually better then me to order me around? You are the fool, human," he hissed. "Because of your little outburst, I'll make sure to slaughter this whole village." The shinobi let out a low cackle that drowned out the soft whimpers of the victim in his arms.

"You humans just killed yourselves. This will surely please Lord Masaru," added a shinobi who walked up behind his leader, dragging the mother by her hair with him. Her face was covered in her own blood and she tried desperately to reach out her daughter.

"P-please forgive us…we were out of line…just-please let us live. Let my daughter go unharmed…please." The half dead woman's voice cracked and was hoarse from the smoke.

"Shut up you filthy whore!" The man holding her pulled her to her knees and sent a shin into her ribs. The fellow bandits gave a rough laughter at the limp body.

An arrow suddenly landed a few centimeters from the leader's left toe. "Leave them alone!" cried another man who held an arrow at the leader.

"Papa!" cried the hysterical girl who began her struggles again with new found power. But no matter what she tried it was useless.

"It'll be okay, Rumi. I'm here." Her father's short blonde hair could be seen from the reflecting flames and shadows on his face highlighted his worn and tired features from years of work.

"Yes, little Rumi. Your Papa's here." teased the bandit leader. He took hold of the girl's head with one hand and held her in front of him, forming a human shield. A pointed-toothed grin illuminated his cat-like face causing the pointed tips of his ears to peek from his unruly hair.

"You bastard," said the father through clenched teeth. He released the arrow which narrowly missed the leader's head, but still lodged itself deeply in the bandit's throat that had held the mother. The grin disappeared and turned to frown. He squeezed his catch's head tighter maker her cry out.

"You just killed you daughter, filth." His voice was full of mirth. The other's took a wary step back knowing that he wasn't going to make the girl's death clean. As if to reinforce those thoughts, he squeezed Ruth's head emitting a terrible screech through the suffocating air.

"No-stop it!" Her father through the bow and arrow at the shinobi's feet. "Please stop-kill me instead!" The warn soul fell to his knees, begging to the tormentor. His response was a cold laugh that was mixed with a growl. For the first time in his life, he was lost. He just saw his wife die and now his daughter. And he couldn't do anything except beg. Beg like a dog for a scrap of meat. And the sad part was when the shinobi were done with his daughter that would be the only thing left; a scrap of meat. The group continued their onslaught, on the unconscious woman while the leader laughed at the sight of the begging human on the ground.

"You see this?" he asked in between laughs. "This-this here will soon be what the world will be like; a bunch of begging, filthy human slaves. Mark my words! The Demon Country will win this war that will soon brake out. You will all answer to Lord Masaru of the Demon-"

Silence.

Rumi's screams subsided as the grip loosened and she fell to the ground. Not wasting time, she darted to her father as fast as she could while tripping on only air. Once she was in his embrace and he whispered calming words to her, did she look to see what happened to her captor. That's when she saw it.

A large blue scaled object protruded from his chest; an eerie cerulean blade coated with crimson blood gleamed in the remaining fire light. Then the blade retracted with a sickening suction from a now visibly hole. The lone body of the leader fell in a limp heap revealing the silhouette of his killer.

Before anyone could focus on the identity, the remaining three Shinobi attacked the lone fighter; each one cutting off any escape routes as they charged. The first one reached a hand with what could be mistaken as talons. It reached towards the person's face but didn't anticipate the target to dodge with ease and stab the sword into his defenseless gut.

He could feel the blood rise to his throat and with his resolve; he spat at his killer…a mistake he found out. Taking their free hand and placing it on the hilt, the cloaked figure ripped the blade through his side, cracking a few ribs and leaving him to crumble. With the now free blade, the shadow like person swung horizontally, slashing both ninja in the stomach and throat. Within a second, they too fell, lifelessly onto the ash layered snow. Everything seemed to freeze like all things did in winter, but this was different. No movement. No sound. Like a train coming to a stop in the middle of nowhere. By now the fire had died down to a smolder with the slight crackle here and there in the never ending silence. Finally the figure diverted their gaze to the remains of the house.

"Keh, look at this mess…" His eyes looked towards another building short of being rubble and he shook his head. "And here I thought I could come here for a nice warm bottle of Sake."

"_You really should stop drinking_… **It's becoming a pain in the ass on missions**," Zetsu retorted irritably.

"Are you admitting that you actually care about me?"

"_No_… **I'm saying you are a**—"

"Oh that's great! Wait till I tell Rai that the Salad man cares about me!" Kisame joked with a bark of laughter. Many of the villagers looked on at the two with a mix of confusion and fear. Mainly the latter.

"**Shut up**," Zetsu growled as he turned back towards the corpses at his feet. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "_So these were Demon Shinobi_**… Leader won't like this at all**."

"Eh," Kisame looked over his shoulder but started his digging through the rubble of the bar. People jumped out of his way, making sure to give the blue man a wide birth. "I'm a demon you know? What's wrong with that?"

"**You're a trout- not a demon."**

"Nooo fuck you! I'm a shark!" he snapped while throwing a board at Zetsu who simply ducked under it. "Besides, these guys aren't as tough as they look so why should we be worried at all? Ah-haa! Here we go!"

Kisame stepped from the rubble and back to stand beside Zetsu while examining his bottle in hand. "Hmm not a bad brand of Sake either." He popped off the top and took a healthy swig before sighing in content. "This is much better! The perfect thing to take the chill outa your bones! Here," he offered. "Want some?"

Zetsu wrinkled his nose and pushed the shark-nin's hand away. "_Get that away from me."_

Kisame only shrugged. "More for me."

"Are you going to kill us?" asked a new voice.

Kisame and Zetsu turned to the villagers and blinked as if realizing they were just there. "Ummm…. Would you like us to?"

"N-Nooo please no," the man begged and held the blonde haired girl who watched through glistening tear-filled eyes. "Please we don't want any harm."

"Then I want another bottle of your finest Sake for the road or I might just have a taste of the little girl you have their," Kisame winked while flashing his pointed teeth.

"No! Here—Get him his Sake!" the panicked father ordered to the standing villagers shaking them from their shock. A few started to search through the broken bottles of their pub before a young teen held up the treasured bottle.

"I got it!" The young boy brought it to Kisame and handed it to him shakily.

Kisame flashed the kid a smile, clearly scaring him further before taking it from him in a quick swipe. "Ready Zetsu?"

Zetsu glared daggers at the pleased shark before reluctantly following him.

Once a decent hundred feet from the village was when he said out loud the obvious. "That was the second time we ran into Demon Ninja this week. I guess Konoha had a right to worry."

"**It isn't just Konoha.** _All the other Shinobi countries have experienced similar encounters. According to Konan, Konoha had asked us to help them again because it might concern the girl again." _

"Rai? But Madara is dead. Who else would want anything to do with her? Not to mention that everyone knows she is Akatsuki too." Kisame questioned as he finished off his first bottle.

"I'm not sure. Ask Leader-san."

At this, Kisame frowned. "Nah… I don't think he would care much for me asking outside my pay grade." Not after the picture he took of Leader and Rai on the couch… He was still afraid to find himself alone with their ruthless leader and be at the end of his wrath.

* * *

"So?"

The silence in the tower was overbearing for the four shinobi as they discussed what none of them wanted to hear. Blue eyes looked across the desk at the dark haired Uchiha standing in front of him. "I did as you asked. They will be moving soon."

A sigh left his lips and his shoulders shrunk lower. "Good. That's good."

"I don't see why you had to destroy their base," came Sakura's irritable reply as she crossed her arms and glared between Naruto and Itachi. "Why couldn't you just tell them the truth?"

"They wouldn't have listened either way Sakura," Kakashi explained with his hands stuffed in his pocket and with him leaning against the wall. "The Akatsuki are stubborn and would rather put themselves in danger then to listen to Itachi after he switched sides."

"Then tell them the truth," Sakura repeated in a stronger voice. "I know Rai would have listened-"

"Don't be so sure," Itachi interrupted earning a dark glare from Sakura but he chose not to look, knowing that she was sure to give him a piece of her mind later. "She was ready to kill me and ask questions later. Someone like that acts on instincts, not logic."

"What are you trying to say," Sakura challenged as she uncrossed her arms and took a step forward. She hated that the three men in the room-the closest friends she had-were starting to make decisions without her much less not listening to her reasons.

"She has been subjected to the Sharrigan," Kakashi reminded softly, trying to keep Sakura from losing her temper.

"Because of that she is much more fearful then before. She will make sure to keep herself out of harm's way at whatever risk instead of thinking through the problem rationally," Itachi explained. "There's nothing you can do. She is more feral then when you last saw her."

"You don't even know her. You only saw her a few times but that is it. You can't judge her."

"I agree with Sakura," Naruto said finally. "But I also believe that what Itachi did was for the best." Sakura scowled but said nothing. "The Demon ninja were closing in on that area. The sooner they are out then the better. Do you know where they will go next?"

Itachi looked calmly at the kage but shook his head. "I assume towards Rain Country maybe WaterFall… but I cannot say for sure."

"Then we will try to keep track of Rai," he said in defeat. He was tired and bags hung low under his eyes. He knew being Kage was hard work but damn it that he had taken the job up during the beginning of a war at such a young age.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "And if they capture her?"

"Then you know what we must do." Itachi said, knowing the words wouldn't come out of Naruto's mouth.

* * *

The next day Rai followed Konan and Deidara out of the base with her gear strapped to her back. Hidan and Kakuzu had left earlier in the morning, deciding to scout ahead towards the next base two days from where they were in case any enemy was around. The group knew that even as the small bump in Konan's stomach grew, she was not going to be able to fight without being exposed to the risk of hurting her baby. Deidara and Rai were with her in case any kind of ambush arose. Looking back at the base, Deidara allowed a flock of clay crows fly across the half rubble building before leading the two girls towards his large clay bird.

"Get on, un," he said while helping Konan on and then Rai before hopping on in front of them. "You have everything?"

"I do," Konan nodded and Rai replied with a "yea" before Deidara sent the bird into the air. The wind was chilly and the sun was too high to provide any warmth. The higher they rose, the colder it seemed to get. Finally Deidara put his fingers into his signal before commanding, "Katsu!"

The explosion was ear bleeding as boards and pages scattered through the smoke of the blast. More detonations followed as the bird soared higher and out of range of fire until they were a half a mile away. Smoke reached high into the clouds clearly going to attract attention of any shinobi in two or three miles distance. The trio would have to fly high to use the clouds for cover until they were far enough away. Much to the women's displeasure, the closer they got to Waterfall Country, the colder it got. The clouds grew damper and the sky darkened with air growing stale and edgy. Konan huddled next to Deidara and he held her close and offered to do the same for Rai on the other arm but she shook her head with a smile.

"You think I'm crazy enough to cuddle with you in front of Konan?" she teased. "I refuse to die so young!"

At this Konan laughed lightly. "Don't be silly Rai. Come here. I know you're cold."

"It's ok," Rai said on a more seriously note but a smile still in place. "We should be far enough away to get out of these clouds soon." At this neither Konan nor Deidara pushed at Rai. It was just another time that Rai was trying to distance herself from the others and they were all too aware of it. Nonetheless they let her have her space.

Rai knew she was being foolish but she couldn't help it. A stab of jealously hit her hard when she saw how Deidara held Konan close and she deeply wished that Pein would actually be more open about his feelings for her. Sure the other members knew that he had "claimed" her but it wasn't enough to call it "_love" _to them. She wanted to be in love…. Perhaps she was in love but was Pein? Of course he was, right? Or else he wouldn't have saved her like he had and defied death to save her a second time. He was a shinobi after all and the leader of Akatsuki and Amegakure…. If he wasn't ruthless then he wouldn't be able to keep control of any of it. Emotions were an idiotic thing to a shinobi anyway.

Maybe one day he would realize that.

Rai could feel tears sting her eyes at the thought. If he did realize all she was to him was weakness, then she knew it would be the last of her resolve. She would have nothing to hope for and no one by her side once again. If that was to happen then what was the point of her existence?

"See that group of trees, yea?" Deidara asked as he broke her out of her thoughts. Quickly wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked to where he pointed. "We'll camp down there for the night." Rai watched as Deidara lowered them down towards the fog filled forest safely out of any enemy that could be lurking around. A few hours passed and the traps were successfully built around the campsite and the fire burning lightly with a single tent strapped next to it. During their early dinner Konan continued to toss wary glances at the tent then back in the fire. The glimpses didn't go unnoticed by Rai who gave a crooked grin.

"Not used to it?" she asked but both knew it was more of a statement. "You know, the men are all worried about you."

Konan gave a soft smile and her hand drifted to her stomach. "I know but it is still a little soon. You can see my bump but it isn't something they should fret over." Her attention turned to Deidara who stumbled into view with extra logs to keep the fire going the rest of the night. "Deidara is so protective. I never would have expected him to be this excited over having a child."

Rai nodded in agreement before saying aloud what Konan couldn't, "He will be a great father."

Suddenly Deidara caught his sandal on the tent's rope causing the logs to fly through the air and the tent collapse over the fuming blonde bomber. A string of curses shook a flock of resting birds from the trees and Rai only shook her head gloomily as he struggled to untangle himself from the tent. Konan gave a soft tiresome sigh.

"Damn fucking tent, un," he cursed and roughly kicked the logs away before wrestling the tent back in place.

"Dei, you don't have to worry about putting the tent back up," Konan insisted. "It'll be ok to sleep like normal out here—"

"No! My woman is going to have a fucking tent, yea! I refuse to let you sleep out here in the cold." He left no room for argument…

Rai only looked to Konan and held in a laugh at the duo. They really were cute though she wouldn't have ever expected them to be with each other. Then again she always thought that she would never be with Pein either. His egotistical nature was addicting, though she would never admit that out loud for fear of making his head bigger—if that was at all possible… None the less she would admit that he made her happy and feel special like no one else had been able to do. Deep down the kunoichi wished that they were heading to Amegakure then to Waterfall Country. She just wanted to go home…But Konan did say earlier today that they would be heading to Rain right after they reached the base. In fact, she had the feeling that she was being protected just as much as Konan was. She was vaguely aware that the Demon Country shinobi were beginning to lurk about more than usual and had even attacked other villages as Itachi had explained though none of this came to a surprise to her seeing as Masaru had once again emerged from the shadows of her past.

What troubled her though was not the fact that Akatsuki was aware of the Demon-nin… It was the fact that she hadn't told them anything. The realization had been prowling in the back of her mind that Akatsuki knew what was going on and perhaps they knew more than she did. And why hadn't they said anything to her? Was she the only one unaware of these attacks? Why hadn't they told her about what they knew? Hell, if she hadn't ran into Masaru, she wouldn't know anything!

Her expression hardened and the firelight darkened her scar that blazed across her face. Did they think she was weak? They must have. There was no other explanation. Green eyes flared as she glanced at the duo who stacked the few logs and sticks near the fire. She was beginning to feel further and further from her friends…

An ache suddenly pulled at her chest and her glare lessened. Was this what was going to happen between her and Pein? She wouldn't be able to stand if he began to grow further from her like the others were. It was true that they still sparred with her and mess around like the pranksters they were but there was a barrier that you just couldn't see. She felt it and knew that her comrades could feel the heavy tension just like her.

* * *

She went out through the window, down the side of the building, and melted into the shadows. She took off her high heeled shoes and flitted barefoot through the back roads, making it home in less than five minutes.

No one saw her enter the compound; nearly everyone was asleep She ran to her room, tore off her dress and threw it in disgust, while slipping into her normal clothes. It had been a horrible day and an even worse night. She should have known that it was off to a bad start after the meeting with Naruto, Itachi and Kakashi. Tsunade would be shaking her head at her now if she knew Sakura hadn't had a drop of alcohol to try to make this wretched day better.

After she had gone to the training grounds to blow off some steam, Itachi had decided to stop by and resolve what had happened in the Kage office. Though the pink haired kunoichi was tentative to his offer for dinner as an apology, she assumed, she still agreed which led her to her second bump in her day.

What started out as a nice night out together around the village, took a quick turn for the darker side of Sakura's temper. After trying to keep the moment about them, Itachi-in a way that only Itachi could- brought up the "what if" question Sakura had been thinking about with Rai. He decided to inform her that if Rai was inevitably taken by the Demon Country Nin then it was their job to finish her life. White hot rage licked at Sakura's inner and though she argued and snapped at him, she knew that there was nothing she was going to do. If Tsunade was around today, Sakura knew her mentor would have done something different then what they had when Madara was alive. She was tired of this already. This idea of killing their once teammate was getting old if you asked her.

But it seemed that no one here wanted to ask her anything… Which led her to her final decision now.

Angrily she tossed a few things in her travel pack. Kakashi had taught her to always keep her travel gear packed to be ready at a moment's notice, and she was grateful for that advice now. She went to her closet and tore up the floorboard to retrieve the contents stashed in the hidden niche, stuffing them into her pack as well. Another five minutes had passed before she glanced outside her window. She would need to make this quick and clean.

The kunoichi had a plan. She would leave this place and go to Akatsuki. If she could be there with Rai then she would be able to help keep her from danger of the Demon Ninja. She would not fail. Not only was she doing this to help Rai but also to keep the Shinobi Nations from war. She knew it was the right thing to do. Itachi had said that Rai was heading to either Waterfall or Rain country. She wasn't foolish enough to think that she was going to be able to find their secret base. They were S-class criminals for a reason… But she had a plan. Another five minutes passed before she jumped down to the alley below, landing silently.

She turned to leave, and then froze as Jiriaya silently stepped out of the shadows to face her.

**I figured the last chapter wasn't that great so I made sure to update this one sooner. Hope you guys like it!**

**Thank you Grimmy-grim! Your update inspired me to update! **


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